


Flame On the Water

by comingbacktoyou



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Small Town, Bullying, Jaebum is the son of the police chief, Jinyoung is a pyro, M/M, Mystery, Slow Burn, Social Outcasts, mentions of mental health
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-30 16:47:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 59,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13955820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comingbacktoyou/pseuds/comingbacktoyou
Summary: Take one small town with a morbid history and mix in:-a dutiful son-a social outcast-a box of matches-and a handful of lies.Add a sprinkle of vengeance, and you've got a love story that's destined to burn.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my ahgafriends HAPPY COMEBACK DAY !!!!! :^) I'm back with my next fic and it's going to be a roller coaster ride !!!! I'm so excited because this fic is completely original and I created everything myself! Since it's supposed to have an element of mystery to it I'm not going to reveal potential spoilers in the tags, but I will add them ass each chapter goes on.
> 
> Shout out to Mel @madeuplovesong for being my beta once again and making my words sound better ily :)
> 
> I'll be posting roughly every two weeks if not earlier :)
> 
> If you have any questions or want to come chat I'm on twitter @LILPEPIVERT
> 
> Enjoy and let me know what you think ! xx

**_“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, on but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  -_** **2 Corinthians 4:18**

 

If there’s one town in South Korea that you would want to visit before you die, it’s not Cheolwon.

There’s nothing spectacular about Cheolwon. It has one cinema with only two theaters, stale popcorn, and the movies playing now came out five years ago. Teens usually sneak into the back rows to make out or go farther, knowing they won’t be caught by regularly low attendance.

Cheolwon has exactly what it needs and nothing more. A school -elementary, middle, and high- a courthouse nestled in the middle of the town square and surrounded by the offices and businesses of the town’s inhabitants, a police station, and a motel for the occasional drive-through.

There was once a church that sat sat five miles outside of town, where the locals would go to repent every Sunday morning. It has long been gone, years ago demolished from the irreversible swipe of a match. Without the funds to rebuild it, the people now pray in the comfort of their own homes.

There is a market, but it’s small. If you wanted something that the market didn’t stock you’d have to haul your ass forty minutes towards the nearest city, which happened to be Jinhae, so you were probably also out of luck. If you wanted to have a good time that didn’t include ripped theater seats scraping your ass you’d drag yourself to Jinhae too, as most of the local kids did when the boredom of small town life crept under their skin.

Cheolwon is almost too small to call itself a regular town. It’s just a mere couple thousand people from being classified as a village, though the townsfolk rely and treat one another like it’s a village all the same. The locals don’t necessarily hate folk who come from out of town, it just takes them a while to get used to new people taking up space in the place they call home.

It took the locals almost three summers to finally regard Im Jaebum as one of their own, though it most likely had more to do with his father being the long-standing chief of police than actually getting used to him.

And even then, there are times where Jaebum feels he still isn’t truly apart of the town, or ever will be.

His parents split when he was a baby, his mother moving north towards Seoul, his father remaining in Cheolwon. Jaebum never visited the town in his youth, but his father always managed to take some time during the year to visit him for birthdays and holidays. Jaebum hadn’t even considered the thought of moving to Cheolwon until his mother passed away a few years back when he was twenty-two, right before he began working on his masters degree.

It was a low blow to his family and his emotional support,  and it meant he had nowhere to live until the fall semester. That’s when he reached out to his father, who had persuaded Jaebum to return to the town where he was born in and stay for the summer. During the school year he resides in Seoul to continue his degree, then enjoys the small-town life each summer has to offer. He has to continue living at home but he doesn’t mind, as his father lets him be and keeps himself busy with duties as chief. He even let Jaebum bring his mother’s cat, Nora with him too, and she was introduced to the two cats his father kept around, a black one named Kunta and a white one named Odd.

By now, he’s gotten completely used to the quirkiness of the town and what its inhabitants have to offer. He’s even become friends with some of the local guys his age who gladly took him under their wings.

There’s Mark, a boy whose family has lived in the town all their lives after migrating from Taiwan. He’s just a few months older than Jaebum and what could be called the leader of their friend group, with ash-blonde hair and a face that puts the local girls to shame.

With Mark always comes Youngjae, a few years younger than them and attached to the older’s hip. Youngjae is adorable and never fails to make Jaebum laugh with his antics, something akin to a kid doped up on sugar. Youngjae’s bright smile and infectious laughter are also reasons why he and Mark are so close, and when the two share fleeting touches and smiles in a way only the other is allowed to see, sometimes Jaebum wonders how deep their bond truly goes.

Only two months younger than him is Jackson, another foreign-blood and hyperactive guy that isn’t afraid to say what he feels. He’s also got a heart like no other, making him a local favorite with both the girls and the elders.

Lastly is Yugyeom, the youngest, tallest, loudest, and brattiest. Though he could be obnoxious and confrontational some of the time, Jaebum has learned over the course of his friendship with Yugyeom not to make the other upset, because it usually ends with the younger crying into Jaebum’s shirt and him feeling like he’s just stepped on a dog’s tail -even if he was in the right.

There are a few more characters here and there, but no one else Jaebum would considered calling out of the blue to go smoke a joint or crack open a bottle of soju with.

The eccentricities of the small town are great for a moment but draining the next, which is why Jaebum is thankful he gets to spend most of the year in the populated streets of Seoul. It gives him a break from the kookiness of Cheolwon, and he gets to catch up on whatever he missed during his three months of societal isolation.

When he is in town however, his weekdays are spent busting his chops for the locals as a handyman, a skill he acquired from his uncle before he passed on, and running the small hardware store a few miles outside of the town square. The pay is good and it keeps him busy in place of his normal school schedule. It’s surprising how many locals actually come in need of his help, but most of them are older and haven’t picked up a hammer or screwdriver in years.

It’s his first shift of the week, a quiet Monday morning, which means Jaebum has time to sit back behind the counter of the store and watch whatever show pops up on his father’s extremely old tv set. The thing is barely the size of a bread box and he has to turn the knob every thirty minutes or so to get a clear picture, but it does keep him from eating his fist out of boredom. The other great thing about Cheolwon is that there’s no wireless internet. There’s an internet cafe down on the square if you really need it, but the townsfolk had voted in a town meeting years ago that it would not employ singular internet services, fueled by a strong fear that the people would become too dependent on devices.

Jaebum doesn't necessarily disagree with the thought, but it becomes hard to live in modern society without some of these things ready at your fingertips.

So for the third time of the morning Jaebum twists the tv’s handle around a few times to get his black and white picture of some mbc show he hasn’t been completely paying attention too. It’s Monday, and coincidentally the last Monday of the month, which means: Town Meeting.

The meetings are bi-monthly and are usually classified as another breed of boring, but often the Mayor and his panel will introduce measures for the town to vote on as unofficial legislation. He and his friends like to go for that purpose alone, but also to enjoy poking fun at the unnerving Mayor Jeong Wook to lighten things up a little.

In any case, the meeting is way later in the day, which gives Jaebum the rest of the day to lounge around the store and keep himself occupied before going home. Due to the summer heat and the broken ac he’s been too lazy to fix, the door to the store stands wide open to let in a cooling rhythm that stops the place from feeling uncomfortable. The breezes come by in small gusts that breathe heavenly against Jaebum’s heated skin under his black t-shirt, and heightens the scent of wood shavings that seem to follow the aisles despite the wood being stored in the back.

The smell is almost calming, and the voices emitting lowly from the television draw Jaebum’s attention away from his duties. So much so that he misses the sound of feet padding into the building and the frame of someone standing by the counter. It takes the clearing of a throat in annoyance to get his attention, arms crossed where _he_ watches Jaebum cautiously.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” he apologizes despite hearing the clearly irritated sound, standing in surprise to meet the _stranger_ who casually waltzed through his doors. The guy looks about his age, with perfectly shaped brown eyes, thick eyebrows, and dark hair that peeks out from underneath a beanie snugly fit on his head. The guy is strikingly handsome, and Jaebum can’t see what he’s got going on under the beanie, but he guesses it does his face justice. It’s rare that he receives people from out of town in his store, since non-locals aren’t usually stopping in town for tools or other supplies. Based on this guy’s appearance, Jaebum can only guess that perhaps his car broke down and he needed something to patch it up. “How can I help you?”

The handsome stranger holds his shoulders up, almost like a defense mechanism when Jaebum talks. He stands completely still as he looks back at Jaebum with unmoving eyes, almost completely devoid of emotion. The guy begrudgingly reaches around and into his back pocket to pull out a folded piece of notebook paper, handing it to Jaebum without so much as a word.

It strikes Jaebum immediately as odd when the stranger goes back to being eerily still, the only part of him moving now being his dark irises as they take in the store. He tries not to think too much of it, recognizing that there are individuals out there who prefer to keep to themselves and not speak, because Mark is also one of those people. But as the guy stares back waiting for Jaebum to read the paper, he can’t help but feel some weird shift in the air that hadn’t been there before.

So, Jaebum does his best to ignore the weird feeling in his stomach and unfolds the sheet of paper. On it is a list made by the stranger, containing various amount of supplies needed: two by fours, plywood, roofing shingles, boards, etc. It peaks his interest, wondering why some traveler would need a full arson of woodworking supplies. His eyes widen.

“This is quite a lot. Are you building a house or something?” Jaebum doesn’t expect an answer, looking up to find the man far away from the counter and perusing another aisle. He’s shocked again when the man actually answers, and is immediately entrapped by the deep timbre of his voice.

“Or something.” The man doesn’t meet Jaebum’s gaze, finding his own interest in the wood polishing section.

His answer is vague and leaves much to speculate, and once again, Jaebum doesn’t know exactly how to react to the man before him. So, he doesn’t.

He reaches under the counter and pulls out their inventory catalog, looking up each product to make sure they have it in stock. Fortunately,  they have most of what the guy’s looking for, but the bad thing is he’s looking for them in bulk. It means Jaebum has to place an order with the company that supplies them, and even then it could take a week for the shipments to get here.

He holds down a sigh, closing the book and finding the young man once more standing in front of the counter. It nearly gives Jaebum a heart attack and he drops the inventory book, much to the confusion of the stranger who merely peers across at him like Jaebum’s done something completely foolish.

“Sorry, you scared me.”

The man before him softens his glare, mouth forming a tight line. “It’s fine.”

Before Jaebum can say anything else, the beanie-wearing boy drops a pack of nails and a caulk gun onto the counter and stands back, clearing his throat. “These too, please.”

Jaebum waits to scan them, holding the former piece of paper between his fingers. “We don’t have what you’re asking for in these quantities. I’d have to put in a call for a shipment, and it would be here next week.”

Mr. Mysterious bites his lip in thought, pensively staring down at the counter for a few moments. He must make a decision, head turning back up. He nods stiffly. “That’s fine.”

“Alright.” Jaebum scans the items on the counter and adds it to the running total of everything else. He then reads off the large number, bagging the products to hand over. He’s met with a credit card with extreme ease in return, meaning the guy must have a lot of money. With each passing second, Jaebum’s curiosity continues to peak. “Where would you like me to deliver your shipment?”

“316 Maple Row,” he says without hesitation.

The printing noise coming from the register blurs out as Jaebum lets the receipt run through his fingers, trying to place a figure to the name. He stares in the general direction of the customer for a bit too long it seems, but then it hits him. His head tilts instinctively. “The Park Place?”

The stranger pauses, eyes hardening again with a hesitance in his voice. “Is there something wrong with that house?”

That’s a good question. Jaebum doesn’t know much, only stories in passing. It’s not that the house has something wrong with it per say, just that the people who used to live in it did. It’s been vacated for nearly ten years now, ever since the last owners left it abruptly. Jaebum’s been by to see it in all it’s faded glory of chipped paint and broken floors, and has been told the old wives tale about its history from his friends, who didn’t seem to enjoy the story.

“The town doesn’t like to talk about it.” Jaebum pretends like the man’s eyes aren’t sending shock waves into his soul. He looks just as jarred as Jaebum does, meaning he must not have known about the bad connotation that comes with the property, and it confuses him even more about who this strange man is.

“Some tragedy apparently. I don’t know much detail because I wasn’t living here then, but from what I’m told the old pastor lived there with his kid, and the kid went crazy.”

In an instant the stranger’s stance from before falls more at ease, like he was expecting Jaebum to tell him it was an old murder house destined to kill everyone who stepped foot inside. “I see.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you fixing up that old place? I’ve seen it and it’s… in shambles.”

“I’m going to sell it.” He replies immediately, looking elsewhere in a daze, towards the door.

“Oh, you’re like one of those house flippers!” Jaebum guesses with excitement, trying to bring some lightness to the dark cloud that seemed to surround the man. He used to love watching house flipping shows from the US with his mom a long time ago, a fond memory he likes to hold dear. The man only nods.

“Well let me know if you need any help with that, I’m good with my hands.” He says it and immediately regrets his poor word choice, cheeks heating a haunting shade of pink when the customer squints across at him. “I mean, I’m also the town handyman for the summer. I don’t charge much, I promise.”

 _Nice save,_ he thinks, coughing to cover up his embarrassment. But the man isn’t looking at him anymore, eyes fixed once again on the spot by the door. Jaebum is beginning to wonder if this guy is actually on the run from somebody who’s trailing his path, but the three little faces smudging up his windows tell him otherwise. They all stare in what looks like awe, mouths fallen open and burning eyes transfixed on the other person in the shop.

“Hey! I just cleaned those windows, you punks get your grubby little hands off of them and away from my store!” Thinking nothing of it, Jaebum shoos the rascals away until they’re running on down the road and towards the square. “Sorry about that, the kids around here aren’t used to seeing out-of-towners often.”

Unfazed, the man takes his receipt and places it in his bag with pinched lips. “Thanks.”

Satisfied that at least Jaebum got the stranger to seem less stoic, he puts the order in their books on the shelf behind him. Since the guy’s going to be in town for a while and could possibly be in need of some assistance, Jaebum decides it’s best to have an official introduction.

He starts to turn back to his position at the counter. “I’m Jaebum, by the way. What is your-”

He stops short, taken aback by the newfound air of emptiness. Just as stealthily as he came in, the mysterious man is gone, leaving Jaebum to stew in his own curiosity over who the reserved man is.

 

* * *

 

 

As mentioned before, town meetings were typically very uneventful, unless something important and potentially life-changing was being introduced to the town. The usual hour and a half meeting consisted of a twenty minute rundown of what has happened in town the previous two weeks, half an hour for updates surrounding businesses, elected officials, and the state were then given. The rest of the time was spent bickering amongst the townspeople, unless votes were needed on motions that the elected panels could not come to decisions on their own.

It’s not all bad though, as Jaebum sees it as a staple in the town, a bi-monthly tradition that keeps an ounce of normalcy in their lives. Their group is able to grab seats up front this time, Jaebum’s claim on the aisle seat on the right first row next to Mark, Youngjae, and Jackson. It was a pity Yugyeom had to work overtime and couldn’t make it, but the rest would make due. It wasn’t so hard to replicate the boy’s devious laughter and presence when warranted.

Jackson is doing pretty fine on his own, mucking up a storm with Youngjae over something Jaebum’s barely paid attention to for the last ten minutes. Ever since he left his store he couldn’t stop thinking about the nameless man who’d come through with such a closed off aura. He’s told Mark as such, hoping the older would have a guess of who it could be. But Mark just shrugged like he’s uninterested, playing with the torn part of Youngjae's jeans as the younger hides his smile in his conversation with Jackson.

So Jaebum finds something else to talk about, the crevices of his mind still falling back to the handsome stranger whose eyes seemed to be devoid of light. It was frightening to think how such a perfect face could unnerve him so.

Changing pace, Jaebum's eyes fall on a small beaded chain that hangs out of Mark's pocket, almost like it belongs on a keyring. He then places it as something he's seen attached to Mark's keys before but never bothered to pay attention to. It looks like it was made by a preschooler, with tiny white block beads lining the chain until the end, where it's tied off with a red star bead. The faded coloring indicates it's aged over time, and now Jaebum's puzzled as to where Mark could have gotten it.

After a few lazy minutes of residents babbling all around them, Mayor Jeong Wook takes his stand behind the podium at the front of the floor, hushing his constituents with the movement of his hand. As silence breaks even Jaebum gazes around to see far more locals gathered in the small room, the seven benches on each side almost filled to capacity. It makes him wonder if there’s something important being discussed today that he’s forgetting.

“Alright, alright, settle down. I think we should get right down to business tonight, folks. We have many things we need to vote on, and a few complaints we’ll hear,” the mayor starts in all his salt-and-pepper haired glory and his impeccable posture that signaled he wasn’t in the mood for any funny business tonight. “First off, let me announce that we’ve finally remodeled the playground! We’ve put in special safety modifications, so the kids will not fall off the swings again.”

Jaebum thinks there’s no fun if everything is one hundred percent safe, but if the parents of the town want to keep their children in a bubble, he isn’t going to try and persuade them otherwise.

The Mayor runs through the usual town updates, from the diner getting new windows to the elementary school reaching commending levels and the back roads near the highways finally getting paved over. He reaches the issues and voting portion of the night, sailing through what seems like case after case of tiny things that one would usually ignore.

Momo petitioned the town to hold a dance competition with her as the judge, that way the town could be represented in state competitions. The officials and the locals present all voted in her favor, hoping to spice up the recreational atmosphere.

In addition to wanting to spice up the town, an older gentleman requested to turn his bar into a saloon, staying true to the old-fashioned staples in western history with busty barmaids. Majority of the people were firmly against the notion, but Jackson had raised his hand in favor, swallowing a laugh as Jaebum jokingly joined him. It earned a few rotten looks from the others around them, but nothing that wouldn’t have been forgotten about the next day.

Mark pinches his leg to which Jaebum shrugs back defiantly. Ah well, it would have made a fun sight regardless.

After a few more cases of particularly random disputes (one woman complaining that her neighbor’s fence was in violation of the homeowners code being two inches on her property), the Mayor closes his folders and folds his glasses into his jacket pocket.

“Now before we move onto the last line of business-” the older gentleman begins, stirring lightly when a shuffling sound comes from the back of the room. After looking up hesitantly, the Mayor’s smile resigns, but his shoulders jump up and back into place on high alert. He tugs his glasses back on.

The Mayor doesn’t even bother opening his folder, sharing a concerned look with the few officials off to the side, who look just as uncomfortable as he does. Nobody seems to notice their change in body language except Jaebum, who keeps his eyes trained on Jeong Wook’s face curiously, wondering what it is that’s got him all worked up.

“Ah, Mr. Park, it’s nice of you to join us.”

All heads in the room snap towards the back door, and Jaebum doesn’t have to wonder any further; he didn’t even hear someone come in. The gasps from around the room are loud enough to render someone deaf, each person glancing around with bulging eyes as a person of familiar stature slips into the town hall and stops amid the hundreds of eyes upon him.

Jaebum recognizes the person immediately as the mysterious man who entered his shop and left without so much as a complete sentence earlier that morning. “Hey, that’s the new guy I was telling you about,” he whispers to Mark. He fails to get a response.

There’s something weird going on for sure, as the locals tend to react to outsiders differently than they are now. Instead of their usual gaze of intrigue and wonder, every one of them that Jaebum can see looks on with either immense shock or locked jaws. It must mean the man is a familiar face.

A voice in the back dripping with disdain very obviously fails to whisper a, “What the fuck is _he_ doing here?” like the words are covered in poison.

So, Jaebum’s suspicions are correct. The locals of Cheolwon know who the guy is for sure, but how? Jaebum’s never seen him around, and he has an air about him that says he doesn’t fit in with the rest.

The stoic stranger remains unmoving, hands clenched around a manila folder and feet rooted to the ground by the scorching attention until the Mayor calls down to him.

“Park Jinyoung,” he motions for the man to come to the front, the crowd following him all the way to where he stands to the side of the Mayor’s podium, “has come back to Cheolwon.”

Taken back, Jaebum forces the confused look off his face and tries to think, tracing the back of his mind for anything he’s heard in relation to _Park Jinyoung._ But he has no clue who that is, stuck in an uninformed bubble due to his short residency. Beside him, Mark manages a short “What?” under his breath, and both Jackson and Youngjae share concerned glances with each other.

The Mayor lets his glasses slide down to rest at the bottom of his nose when he leans onto the podium with a sigh.

“Now folks, many of you aren’t going to like this, but as you all know, the house on Maple Row has been rotting away for almost a decade. Park Jinyoung has come back to Cheolwon to rebuild his old house and sell it once and for all.” The man’s tone is bitter, stark contrast to the light-hearted voice he carried on with moments ago.

“However, this is something I feel can be good for the town. If everyone will just leave him be, he can get the house sold faster and be on his way.”

“He better leave _us_ be,” comes from a snarky voice in the back as if the man in question weren’t standing right there in front of everyone. It suddenly makes Jaebum furious, because no matter the reason for the ostracization, there’s no way for someone to be treated like this.

This time the man, this _Park Jinyoung,_ clenches his jaw tightly, senses heightened as he knows he’s not welcomed in this hostile environment.

The only question is why.

Beside him Mark visibly tenses, and perhaps Jaebum should lend him a comforting hand. But he can’t, eyes fixated on the man that’s gained the obvious unwanted attention of the whole room, including Jaebum.

It’s not like he means to stare, he really doesn’t. But their meeting earlier plus the dark gazes cast on the guy make it hard for Jaebum to look away. It doesn’t help that Jaebum had basically called the guy crazy right to his face earlier, not realizing that _he_ was the previous owner and left it for dust. It makes him feel embarrassed just thinking about it, and if he wasn’t surrounded by so many people he would have smacked himself for being such an idiot.

He almost doesn’t want to ask why the town outcasts him so, but Jaebum feels like he’s being left out of a dark secret. He turns to Mark slowly to keep from drawing attention to himself, however when he does he’s met with Mark’s stark white face, irises nearly popping out of their sockets. His hand tightly clenched around Youngjae’s knee, knuckles turning white until Youngjae squeaks and pushes his hand away.

Jaebum’s about to ask anyway, head turned towards Mark’s ear and voice lowering to a whisper when the Mayor’s voice forces him to swallow his questions.

“Now Mr. Park,” he beings, finishing his signatures on the papers Park Jinyoung gives him and placing them back in their manila folder. He regards the man in question sternly, no trace of empathy in his voice. “I requested you to be here for a reason, and that reason was to inform the whole town of your presence here. I warn you, watch where you step.”

Park Jinyoung barely bats an eye from where most of his face is hidden by his hoodie; where his posture stands on alert and his mouth falls into an unconcerned line. It’s like the Mayor’s words had no effect on him at all, as he just takes his folder back with confident hands and turns back towards the door.

Jinyoung just happens to look in the direction of Jaebum the exact moment he does, eyes catching from their short distance between each other. Park Jinyoung’s eyes are dark and cold, and just like the rest of his face, convey no emotion. They’re like small black holes filled with nothing, frightening yet alluring at the same time. They strike a cord of fear in Jaebum, but for some reason he can’t find it in himself to look away, their emptiness pulling him in like a tidal wave.

Jinyoung stares back just as hard, and Jaebum can’t read anything about him. It’s like they're caught in a magnetic pull, burning with a weird connection that Jaebum can’t explain as everything seems to slow down and blur in the background.

But the connection is broken when Jinyoung turns away like Jaebum is merely a flick of dust in the wind. The moment leaves Jaebum feeling extremely awkward and disoriented, and both fail to catch the foot that slides into the aisle between the seats until Jinyoung goes crashing to the floor.

He has quick enough reflexes to catch himself on his hands, but he drops his folder and the papers manage to fly everywhere. There are a few giggles from the front row on the left side (where the leg happened to come from) until Jinyoung snaps his head in their direction, shutting them up for good.

No one moves to help him collect his papers, and maybe because Jaebum still feels disoriented from before or he just feels bad for the guy, but he crouches on all fours despite Mark’s hand attempting to hold him back and helps gather the sheets of paper.

No one speaks, and Jaebum can feel everyone’s eyes burning holes into his back. He’s suddenly the new guy again with all the unwanted attention, but shakes the uneasy feeling off as he hands the white sheets to Jinyoung, who snatches the pieces out of his hand without so much as a thank you.

Jinyoung doesn’t even look back at him when he rises to his feet, exiting the town hall with all eyes tracing his footsteps, like they’re magnetically connected. Jaebum didn’t know what he was expecting Jinyoung to do, but he can say that since meeting the man that morning, he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

The atmosphere in the room changes the instant Park Jinyoung is out the door, though the hostility still remains. Mark scoffs at Jaebum when he takes his seat, and blatantly ignores him when the Mayor calls the meeting to an end.

They walk back to their respective cars, but Jaebum is still left hanging out of the blue. “Hey, what just happened back there? Who is Park Jinyoung?”

Mark keeps his mouth shut, lips turned down into a frown where he leans against the back of his truck. Youngjae is already by his side, fidgeting with anything he can get his hands on, from his jacket to the end of Mark’s t-shirt. Jackson is equally silent, casually pulling out a pack of cigarettes and shoving one into his mouth.

Jaebum watches the way he lights it gracefully, fire catching on the white outer layer before dimming to a light orange tint. It's oddly calming in a way, as the nicotine burns from the embers. “Come on guys, what does everyone know that I don’t?”

After a long drag of his cigarette, Jackson looks at it in disgust, dropping it to the ground to stomp it out. He never actually was an avid smoker -just carried around a pack to look cool or when there was something particularly troubling he needed to take his mind off of. His mouth is weighs heavily. “He’s just a bad kid, hyung.”

“But how? What did he do?” Jaebum registers that it’s something bad enough to warrant these reactions from his friends. He almost wants to get in his car and drive off so he never hears the answer after just helping the guy, but remembers he actually has to interact with him in the future. He needs to know what to expect.

Mark is the first one to move, dragging Youngjae with him to the driver’s side of his truck. Wordlessly, the pair climb in, and Jaebum follows them to the door. When the door is shut Jaebum stares through the window at his friend, hoping he’s not going to actually ignore his questions.

On the passenger’s side Jackson slides in, and when his own door is closed the truck starts up with a ghastly rev of the engine even though he knows Mark’s gotten it tuned up recently. The driver’s window rolls down ever so slowly, illuminating Mark’s sour face under the yellow glow of the closest streetlight.

“Ask your dad, he can explain it to you a lot better than we can.”

Not giving Jaebum any time to question them further, the window rolls back up, leaving him with his mouth parted and even more puzzled thoughts. The engine revs again as it’s put into drive, and in seconds Jaebum is left alone in the parking lot with more questions than answers.

The blue tint of the moon barely illuminates the dust that blows in every direction, sticking to his clothes and dancing through the humidity of the night air. He picks up his keys and strolls to his own truck, whistling to himself as he wonders just who Park Jinyoung is, and what he did to turn a whole town against him.

He drives home with a bitter taste in his mouth and a single name burned into his retinas.

           


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry one day late oops

_**“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”** _ **\- 1 Corinthians 10:13**

 

The lights on inside the house casts a warm glow through the white curtains that hang across the large window peeking into the front of the house. It’s always like this, orange and room temperature colors dipping the home into an atmosphere of comfort and warmth. Jaebum’s father, Chief Im of the police force of Cheolwon, had always liked to keep things dark, for both the feeling and because it helped his eyes rest after long days in the brightly illuminated police station.

Jaebum opens the front door to the usual dim lighting, and is met immediately with the pleasant aromas of whatever his father has cooking in the kitchen. The scent alone has his mouth watering, forever thankful that his dad had always taken time out of his busy day to prepare actual family meals for the two of them.

He catches the door smoothly before it rocks shut, careful not to disturb his father in his peace. With the meeting now over and dozens of questions running through his mind Jaebum trudges upstairs to his room, chucking his shoes haphazardly into his closet and washing up for dinner. He pats Nora’s head from where she rests on his bed in a little ball, effectively undoing the scrub he just gave his hands.

He shrugs, padding back down the stairs to find his father finishing up their meal of what he now registers as tteokbokki. Jaebum does his part and fishes out two porcelain plates from the cupboard, cups, and each a pair of silverware. They work in compatible silence as Jaebum fills their glasses with water and his dad plates the food, the younger wanting to wait until they’ve settled into their seats before he barades his father with his onslaught of questions.

“How was the town meeting, Jaebum?” Chief Im asks as he settles into his chair, picking up his fork to shovel bits of tteokbokki into his mouth.

Jaebum remarks this as the perfect opportunity to bring up what’s been on his mind, his father unknowingly beginning the conversation. He waits a few seconds to collect his thoughts and hydrate his parched throat, clearing it as he fiddles with his silverware.

“It was normal, I guess. Until the end.”

His dad doesn’t look up from his plate. “Hm? Why’s that?”

“Well, this guy came in from out of town, and everyone freaked out,” he admits. “Do you know who Park Jinyoung is?”

Across the table Chief Im ceases movement mid-chew, swallowing roughly when his eyes, dark and void, finally glance up. Jaebum’s immediate reaction is to look away, to forgo the frightened feeling he gets watching the things cross through his father’s mind. He doesn’t say anything, but Jaebum can see everything pass through his wide eyes. 

Like a switch is flipped his father’s face scribbles itself clean, like there was nothing to be upset about in the first place. He looks down and continues to eat, and for once in his life, Jaebum doesn’t know what his father’s thinking.

“Yeah,” the older man begins, setting his fork down and finding Jaebum’s eyes. “He used to live here with his father a long time ago. You know the house on Maple Row? That used to be theirs.”

Jaebum already figured that out from the ghost stories that surrounded his family, but he carries on playing innocent. Nodding, Jaebum prompts his dad to continue. “Why does everyone seem to hate him?”

“Jinyoung was a troubled kid.” Chief Im sits back, crossing his arms as he remembers. “I don’t know what he was, be it a psychopath or a sociopath, but he had no empathy for anything when he was younger. He had an obsession with fire, and more often than not we were called in to stop him from burning something to the ground.”

At the revelation Jaebum cocks his head to the side, but he’s not shocked. Jinyoung seemed like the quiet loner type, and arson looked like it could be directly up his alley. It immediately peaks his interest. “So he’s a pyro?”

The man across from his shrugs. “I don’t know if he still is. But back then, where there was smoke, you’d always find Park Jinyoung doing something he shouldn’t. His dad was the Pastor, so some think he was lashing out at his dad for his upbringing. I really couldn’t tell you why he acted the way he did.”

Everything was falling into place, but just setting fires alone and being a troubled kid didn’t explain the way the town acted towards him they way they did, treating him like a leper full of disease. It also didn’t explain how his friends had clenched up, why Mark regarded Jinyoung as the devil himself personified and refused to utter a word in his honor.

“So, then why does everyone hate him?”

Visibly uncomfortable, his father shifts in his seat, scratching the back of his neck. “About ten years ago there was an accident. Well, some think it was an accident, but most think it was on purpose because of his resentment to his father. Anyway, a fire somehow got ignited in the town church, and it burned to the ground within an hour. We found Jinyoung at the scene, almost dead.”

Jaebum’s eyes widen on their own accord. He knew of the ill-fated church, but he had never known its history involved someone else until today. He figured it was an electrical error, or some freak lightning strike that caused the church to burn.

“But that’s not the worst part,” the older breathes, mouth in a tight line. Jaebum isn’t sure what to expect. “There was another kid inside the church when it went up in flames.”

“Oh my god.” The younger barely manages to cover his mouth as it parts on a gasp. He had no idea that something like that had happened in the town, surprising, for how long he’s been there. He never would have thought someone would set fire to the beloved church on purpose, killing someone in the process. It’s almost too much to bear for a small town.

His dad nods his head in disappointment. “Yeah. It wasn’t a pretty sight. The kid’s body all but disintegrated. Jinyoung was in the hospital and unresponsive, so we were left to identify the kid by his teeth.”

There’s too much pain at the thought of having to go through something like that, especially in a town like Cheolwon, where everyone considers each other a neighbor and friend. There’s even more uneasiness in Jaebum’s chest as he learns the truth, understanding now why the town would shun Jinyoung the way they have. He would too, maybe, if he hadn’t have moved when he was younger. But then again, Jaebum doesn’t have a mean-spirited bone in his body, he could never treat someone -murderer or not- with outwardly hatred.

This information raises a few more questions. “But how is he able to be here in the first place? Shouldn’t he been in prison or some psychiatric ward?”

“He was never convicted of the crime,” his dad admits with a sigh. “There was never enough evidence to prove he did it; it all got destroyed in the fire. Him being there was a full conviction for the town, but when we questioned him in the hospital Jinyoung admitted someone had asked him to meet there.”

“There’s no proof of that or who, I’m guessing?”

“You’re absolutely right.” Jaebum’s father cracks the hint of a smile, proud of his son’s detective instincts. “Everyone was ready to call him a murderer, and although we found nothing to prove or disprove his claim, I’m part of the minority of the town who never thought he actually did it.”

“But you said it yourself, he was troubled and did this stuff for fun,” Jaebum concedes, puzzled by his father’s words. “Why would you think he was innocent?”

 “I’ve know that kid most of his life here, seen him at his worst and at his best. I was one of the only people to seek help for him, and I gained his trust. I know for a fact that even though he lacked empathy as a kid, he had a good heart and cared greatly for others in his own way. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone.” Taking a sip of his water, the chief’s face turns sour. “After that the Parks left town to find him some help and were never heard from again.”

Humming, Jaebum takes a moment to think over the things he’s learned. Having barely interacted with the guy he can see how his past came to be played out before him. For why his eyes contain no trace of emotion, everything a human should posses, Jaebum begins to understand. Perhaps he wasn’t human after all.

Or perhaps his father was right, and Jinyoung was innocent, just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

* * *

 

Jaebum wouldn’t call himself a very obsessive person. There are things that will catch his attention, begging for him to find solace in more than should be strictly necessary. Such a time came about when he found himself constantly begging for his friends’ attention as a child, always one to be the center of the circle. But he never compulsively seeks something out.

That is, until he learns about Park Jinyoung.

He wouldn’t call it an obsession, nowhere near that scale. He would call it intrigue, a need to diverge deeper into the given subject. The given subject just happened to be the man who is hated by the entire town, and may or may not have killed someone when he was a teenager.

Jaebum’s never had an interest in killers, like many people do. The subject has never peaked his fancy in a way that would get him to investigate a certain murder or murderer. But knowing that such a tragedy took place in a small town where nothing ever seemed to go wrong, Jaebum wants to know more -more than his father is willing to tell him.

But tell him he did, and Jaebum is appreciative for the insight to the case of Park Jinyoung. Though it didn’t answer the rest of his questions, the conversation with his father made Jaebum confused on how to react to the newest (but technically not) person in town. On the one had, he is suspicious of the man’s behavior and his shady past. He’s not one to go against the masses, especially when the masses include his close friends, who know the town’s past better than he does - and have actually lived through it.

But on the other hand, Jaebum trusts his father with his life. His dad worked one on one with Park Jinyoung, and probably knew the kid better than his own parents ever did. If his dad, chief of police, believed Jinyoung was innocent, then Jaebum had no reason to disagree with him. He’s wary, of course, because of the history and possible accidental murder, but there’s something else that keeps him feeling uneasy. 

Maybe it’s the way Jinyoung had looked right through him, like he was nothing. Or maybe because he was something. He doesn’t know. All he knows is that Park Jinyoung is a riddle wrapped in an enigma, and after not even a day of observing the guy, Jaebum knows there has to be more to the story.

On his quest to learn more, and not be the only one in town out of the loop, Jaebum finds himself walking through the doors of the internet cafe near the town square. The place is a nice eat for a good price, but the locals typically only come there for the internet access when they need it most.

Like Jaebum is doing now during his lunch break, as he snags himself a seat by the window that overlooks the square. The sun is bright overhead, and he can feel it warming the glass next to him. He pulls out his macbook, a stark difference to the old dinosaurs they’ve got set up in the corner for locals who don’t own technology.

Those computers are straight out of the stone age; Jaebum touched them once to try to be nostalgic, but as soon as it let out a dial tone that’s all it took for him to come running back to his laptop.

He waves to Yugyeom where the younger boy stands behind the counter, fixing drinks for the townsfolk who bustle through everyday. It’s great that Jaebum has a friend who works behind the scenes, because it means he can get free drinks whenever he wants.

Without a word he gets to work on his research, digging through the portals on the web to find out all he can about Park Jinyoung. The fact that everything happened such a long time ago makes it harder for Jaebum to find what he needs, but he gets what he wants eventually, ending up on the news site for Jinhae and Cheolwon. He has a feeling the articles from Jinhae reporters will have less bias.

The first article Jaebum pulls up is one from 2009, back when Jinyoung was only fifteen years old. It hits Jaebum then, how drastically young the guy was at the time of the fire. Teenagers can be particularly stupid at some times -Jaebum sure as hell was- and are too impressionable for their own good. He immediately feels remorse that Jinyoung was a part of something like this at a young age, as it probably scared him for life. He should have been given an opportunity to learn and grow from his mistakes as a teen (theoretically if he was innocent, that is).

As a current news piece from Jinhae, the article details the entire case opened on Park Jinyoung, from his beginnings of a mere pastor’s kid to the crime no one knows for sure if he committed. From a young age Jinyoung found his way into the police system for minor arson offenses, but Jaebum’s dad had been the one to drop the charges and seek help to manage the boy’s urges.

Jinyoung was absent from school more often than he attended, very few for suspension from getting into fights, and most from undocumented sick days with no explanation. When the church fire happened there were no documents surrounding Park Jinyoung that had come up from the months previous, meaning he either stopped his activities altogether or flew under the police’s radar.

The evidence proves Jinyoung was at the scene of the crime, found barely hanging to life while the church burned in the foreground. Whatever happened there, he was lucky to make it out alive.

There was no evidence found for what caused the fire, as everything had burned in it. However, toxicologists reported traces of lighter fluid and gasoline left behind, so it’s no secret how the fire began.

The local kid killed in the disaster, Hyunjin, was only nine years old. There’s nothing much written about him, except that he was in the fourth grade and liked to play at the park after school. Though they lost their youngest son, the family stayed in Cheolwon for traditional purposes, not wanting to pick up and leave the place they’d lived their entire lives. Jaebum’s never met any of them personally, as they too stick to themselves.

Article after article just frames Jinyoung as guilty, with no other look at it. Jaebum remembers what his dad told him, how Jinyoung claimed someone else was supposed to be meeting him at the church. With that in the back of his mind he discovers an article that actually dives into the police report made.

From what the police report said, Jinyoung claimed he was asked to meet someone at the church that day. There was even a note he brandished for the police, but there was no name attached, and the rest had been burned out of recognition. The police were hesitant to use it as evidence in Jinyoung’s favor, and in truth, no one ever brought it up.

With the newfound information, Jaebum begins to think that his dad is actually right about everything. Jaebum’s not a detective by any means, but he can tell when something seems fishy, and the Park Jinyoung case has his line on a hook.. If the whole thing was a setup, the real murderer got away and an innocent kid was ostracized in the process.

Jaebum nearly jumps out of his seat when Yugyeom sets a white mug right next to his laptop, not realizing he was so immersed in his research. It’s got his usual cappuccino inside, topped with frothy whipped cream, the way he likes best. He nods, forcing his heart rate to fall back into a steady rhythm. 

“Thanks Gyeom-ah.”

“No problem, hyung.” Yugyeom sips his own cup of coffee, sitting in the seat across from Jaebum. There aren’t any customers to be waited on and the town square looks dead, so Yugyeom takes the opportunity for his break. “What’re you working on that’s got you so focused?”

Instead of telling Yugyeom directly in fears that he’ll freak out like Mark and Jackson did, Jaebum flips his mac around and slides it closer to his friend. The same feeling is there immediately in Yugyeom’s eyes as he takes in the image, sighing dramatically when he looks up.

“Hyung, it’s not worth your time.”

Scoffing, Jaebum frowns as he tugs the laptop back towards him. “I was just curious about him, that’s all.”

“Well do yourself a favor and stop being curious. He’s not a good person. I can’t believe they would even allow him back here.”

Jaebum pointedly ignores the hate dripping off Yugyeom’s tongue. “Did you know him?” He asks after a sip.

“Not as well as others,” he admits. “But I knew of him. He beat the shit out of my friend Hobi once.”

He had never heard off Yugyeom’s friend, another person gone before Jaebum moved there. If he got into a fight, there had to be a good reason for it.

Jaebum resorts to shrugging his shoulders and omits saying anything else, not wanting to make another friend upset with his ignorance. Another customer comes into the cafe, which helps to pull Yugyeom’s mind away from the conversation. He leaves Jaebum with a curt nod, and the older reminds himself to tip Yugyeom extra well to lift his spirits.

With his research done, Jaebum closes his laptop to enjoy the rest of his beverage. He startles again when his phone vibrates atop the table, unlocking it easily to read the message he’s just received.

A single phrase pops up in the grey text box, bringing a shy smile to his face.

 _On my way_ , it says.

High on the feeling of what the message entails, Jaebum packs up his stuff, leaves Yugyeom a generous tip, and heads for the shop.

 

* * *

 

The thing about living in a small town like Cheolwon is that word typically travels faster than the speed of light. With nosy neighbors who love to spread gossip on a good day, there aren’t many places one can exist in town away from others. 

That is unless of course, you’re Im Jaebum, and you find your own way.

The storeroom of the hardware shop isn’t the best place to get off, what with the sawdust and piles of wood lying around waiting to be tripped over, but it’s the only place away from prying eyes Jaebum can actually find some release in.

Home is too obvious, what with his father coming back at random times and neighbors always ready to peak through the blinds at the first sight of something out of the ordinary. The town’s inn is like asking for the story to be printed in the paper the next day, and anywhere outside of the town is too far of a drive and never worth it in the end.

So, the store room is the best option at times like this. Wooyoung doesn’t mind either, if the way he’s always eager to get Jaebum bent over every now and then is anything to go by.

Jaebum had never really liked Wooyoung when he first came to town. Wooyoung was a town representative -the youngest one in the county- and an arrogant show off. He still is, but Jaebum has admittedly grown attracted to it in the recent years.

Wooyoung was just another local who belonged to the older young adult crowd, very unfitting to Jaebum’s younger college-aged group of friends. But since Wooyoung had known the others for so long (and had been very close to Mark when they were younger), it was inevitable that he would join their group on several occasions. 

Jaebum and Wooyoung spent more time around each other, Jaebum realizing that yeah, Wooyoung was kind of an asshole, but he was a pretty cool dude when he wanted to be.

It had been an accident, when they first did it. Jaebum will tell you he was out of his mind. Technically, he was. Wooyoung was too, as was everyone else when they spent the night drinking by the fire in the woods behind the phantom of the old church. As it got too late people started walking home, leaving Jaebum and Wooyoung alone in the bed of Jaebum’s truck, drunk and wrapped in a tiny blanket they shared for warmth.

He doesn’t even remember how it happened. One minute they were talking drunkenly about god knows what, and the next Jaebum’s back was pressed against the bed of the truck as Wooyoung sucked the air out of his lungs.

He didn’t know if Wooyoung was gay or if he was just looking for someone to relieve his stress, and due to their drinking Jaebum kissed back without a second thought. Perhaps it was the age difference, how Wooyoung was five years older and more experienced, a city official with a tongue that bit, but Jaebum let himself be manhandled into Wooyoung’s hands as they sloppily got each other off in the open.

It had been like that for two summers now, every chance they get meeting back at Jaebum’s shop for a few minutes to get their fix. Both of them being closeted in a town where a good majority of the residents are closed minded makes each other feel somewhat like a dirty secret, though Jaebum thinks it adds to the intensity of their hookups. 

Despite his initial first impression of the older male, the more time he spent with Wooyoung -dick in his mouth or not- the more he actually got to know him, and Jaebum realized he actually wasn’t such a bad guy. He was cool even, stupidly funny at times, attractive, and insanely unattainable from an emotional standpoint. 

Honestly, Wooyoung was probably one of the best fucks of Jaebum’s life. The older knew just how to get Jaebum’s blood pumping, knew all his sweet spots, and never failed to take care of him. Their routine was old but still good, intense enough to get Jaebum gasping Wooyoung’s name every time he came. 

After their first hook up when they went all the way, Jaebum started to see Wooyoung in a different light. He doesn’t know where the shift was over the two summers, probably after Wooyoung had kissed him goodbye and thought nothing of it, but Jaebum had grown attached. He didn’t mean to, and certainly didn’t want to think about the repercussions, but his feelings burst onto the scene without permission, and soon he found himself looking forward to their hookups twice as much as before.

Wooyoung knew about his little crush soon enough, when Jaebum tried to get the older to stay for pillow talk and tried to get another kiss out of him. Wooyoung had seemed to brush it off, but in the following weeks started acting differently towards Jaebum too. Wooyoung stayed longer, left lingering kisses even when they weren’t hooking up, and talked about their relationship as if it were something else. He was still an asshole about everything else though, continuously ignoring Jaebum’s attempts to ask him out on a real date.

It didn’t stop Jaebum from trying, too in love with the chase and the bad boy type to stop. He’s glad he didn’t give up, because Wooyoung finally cracked last week, agreeing to lunch with Jaebum to try things out and see how they feel about it.

In the back of the shop Wooyoung fucks into Jaebum where they’re pressed against the wall, Wooyoung’s hands holding Jaebum’s own above his head as he plows into him. There’s some loose plywood digging into Jaebum’s side and the floor is still sticky from where he accidentally spilled a bucket of white paint, but he ignores them in order to focus on the heat building in his gut from Wooyoung sliding in and out of him.

It’s quiet; it always is. They’re never ones for words when they hook up, only the sound of their bodies slapping together echoing in the room. Just like any other day Jaebum says nothing and comes first, painting the wall before him in streaks of white that he knows Wooyoung won’t help him clean up later.

After Wooyoung works him down from his orgasm Jaebum rocks back into the older and clenches as tight as he can until Wooyoung stills, spilling into the condom.

They spend several minutes breathing jaggedly in the heat of the store room, Wooyoung’s breath warming the back of Jaebum’s head where his nose is buried in his black hair. He slips out, kissing his favorite spot between Jaebum’s shoulder blades before his ties the condom off and chucks it elsewhere.

Before Jaebum’s legs can turn to jelly Wooyoung tugs his jeans up and secures them around his waist before doing the same to his own. His arms snake around Jaebum’s torso while he younger catches his breath, light feathery kisses being peppered along his neck.

It’s moments like this that make Jaebum believe Wooyoung is into him for more than just sex, and he hopes that Wooyoung agreeing to their date means so too.

Checking his watch carefully, Jaebum notices his lunch hour is almost over. That means he and Wooyoung will have to save the post-coital moments for another day, his hands leaving the wall to find Wooyoung’s around his waist. “Hyung it’s time to reopen the shop.”

Ignoring Jaebum’s plea, Wooyoung tightens his grip on his hips, slowly grinding back into him. “Open the shop up later.”

Scoffing, Jaebum sometimes wishes his friend didn’t have the ability to bounce back so quickly. When Wooyoung doesn’t move, Jaebum taps his hands and tries to wrestle free, becoming slightly annoyed that Wooyoung won’t let go. “Seriously hyung, I gotta open.”

Dropping his hands with an irritated scoff, Wooyoung locates his shirt and tugs it on. “Whatever,” he responds in a dry, reserved tone, a complete three-sixty from his tender side before. That’s just how Wooyoung was, flighty and switched moods within the blink of an eye. Jaebum’s been so used to it he doesn’t think much of it anymore.

“We’re still on for Friday, right?” Jaebum asks, threading his arms and head through the holes of his black shirt and tucking them back into his jeans. He threads their fingers despite Wooyoung’s standoffish demeanor and waits patiently for a response, hoping the older isn’t going to blow it off again.

“Mm,” he hums, looking elsewhere. “Sure.”

Jaebum’s heart falls a bit, none too convinced with his answer.

Wooyoung leaves him to clean the spunk off the walls as he predicted, Jaebum wishing for once he had better taste in people and he stopped falling for assholes.

 

* * *

 

After a grueling workday with a surprisingly large amount of customers coming through the shop, Jaebum closes up at his usual five pm, dusting the counters and rearranging the shelves before locking the glass doors. There are a few smudges on the glass paired with fragments of dust, so he sets himself a reminder to clean the windows first thing when he gets in tomorrow morning.

Noticing his tank is almost empty, Jaebum drives to the gas station down the street, the only one in town with a measly two pumps. Most days can be spent waiting in a short line to get to a pump being the only two in town, but lucky enough for Jaebum he pulls up to a completely empty station.

Thankful that the rest of his day will run smoothly and he’ll get home in no time, he gives the station manager, an older gentleman named Jungwook, twenty thousand won on the second pump and hurries back to his truck. 

As he mindlessly spills his coin into his car Jaebum can’t help but think back to his time with Wooyoung earlier. He can still feel his grip on his hips and the hot breath in his ear. Jaebum can still feel Wooyoung’s abrasive personality from hours later, but it just comes with the territory. He knows Wooyoung doesn’t mean to be an asshole, it’s just how he is. But there are times Jaebum wishes he would think of his words and/or actions before actually doing or saying them.

Another truck pulls up to the pump on the other side of Jaebum, but his view of the other person is disrupted by the actual height of the gas container. He wouldn’t even have been bothered to look anyway, thoughts still clouded with Wooyoung and their relationship together.

Jaebum’s so deep in thought he nearly misses it when the door to the station opens a little too harshly. He definitely doesn’t miss the shouting coming from Jungwook, the handle nearly slipping from his hands at the commotion.

“Hey you!” Jungwook yells uncharacteristically, letting the door to the station slam in rage. “Get off my property! I don’t serve people like you here!”

Narrowly avoiding spilling gas everywhere, Jaebum thinks for a split second Jungwook is referring to him until he looks across at the other car parked next to his. The beige truck doesn’t look familiar, but the person half-out of the driver’s seat does, Park Jinyoung’s face coming to rest in an uneasy frown. He looks like he expected it however, face not betraying any ounce of shock like Jaebum’s is.

“This is the only gas station for miles.” Jinyoung says straightforward, foregoing any pleading with the grey-haired man. “And I’m nearly empty.”

Jaebum is too frozen into a trance to do anything but stop and stare at the altercation, both at the fact that Jungwook, a kind old man is behaving this way, and because this is the first time he’s seen Park Jinyoung in the flesh after finding out his deep dark history.

“I don’t care,” Jungwook continues on, stance standoffish, like he’s not afraid to put up a fight. “Take your business elsewhere, and don’t come back here!”

Jungwook rushes back inside with a huff and Jinyoung just shrugs his shoulders with a scoff, as if despite everything and who he is to the town he’s still in disbelief. He’s obviously at a loss for what to do; he’s got almost no gas and if he tries to drive to another station outside of time his car will die before he hits the city limit mark.

Jaebum doesn’t know what propels himself to do it -maybe it’s because his mother always taught him to show kindness to others- but he hangs up his nozzle and walks around to Jinyoung’s station. 

“Wait right here.” He says, startling the guy from where he begrudgingly started to climb back into his truck. Jaebum can feel the man’s eyes follow him all the way to the station door, sensing his full attention as he enters with a few words on his tongue for Jungwook.

“Ahjussi, don’t be like this. Let the guy fill up his car and he’ll be on his way.”

But Jungwook shakes his head feverently. “I’m not taking dirty money from a delinquent like him!”

Glancing back out the window, Jaebum doesn’t know why he feels sympathy for Park Jinyoung. He shouldn’t, after all, if the stories are true. But if they aren't? If Jinyoung is innocent like his father believes, then knowing this is how he’s treated trying to get gas, he’s probably been subjected to more and _worse_ from the townsfolk. Perhaps if Jaebum can just look out for him a little during his stay in Cheolwon, then he will make sure his whole time here won’t be terrible and judgemental. Again, he doesn’t understand why he feels this way, but his gut has never been wrong before.

Without another thought Jaebum reaches into his back pocket and slams down his last twenty on the counter. “Twenty on one please.”

Jungwook eyes the bill with uncertainty, arms crossed when he catches Jinyoung watching them from outside. He points a threatening finger at Jaebum. “I don’t want _him_ filling up his car.”

It takes Jaebum a few seconds to understand that Jungwook wants _him_ to fill up Jinyoung’s truck instead, like Jinyoung is diseased and will spread it to the gas pumps. He understands though, not wanting to press his luck. As misguided as it may be, he bows politely to the ahjussi when he takes the money for himself.

Jaebum steps outside and finds Jinyoung standing in the same position he left him in, eying him with suspicion. Though when he approaches, Jinyoung almost looks hopeful, but Jaebum could be misreading the other completely.

Without an explanation Jaebum takes the handle of the pump and places the nozzle in Jinyoung’s truck, much to the other’s confused glare. But even perplexed Jinyoung falls into Jaebum’s actions easily, stepping aside for him to fill up his tank. He must register what his actions mean immediately, allowing Jaebum to help him without a word. The whole thing feels almost too trusting, like Jinyoung has learned of Jaebum’s innocence and want to help others.

Jaebum forces himself to stop thinking so hard about it -it’s just gas.

When the pump clicks in resolution Jaebum fixes it back in place and closes the cap to Jinyoung’s gas tank. He looks up and startles to find Jinyoung’s wallet out.

“How much do I-?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jaebum brushes off. He doesn’t want to trouble Jinyoung anymore than he already has been, and figures the guy could use a little nice gesture with the treatment he’s been getting. He takes one last look at Jungwook and tries to wave off the tension so they’re still on good terms, but flinches internally when the older man twists his blinds shut violently. He turns back to Jinyoung, eyes peering at him curiously. “If he gives you trouble again, I’m always around.”

Squinting at him now, Jinyoung tucks his wallet back into his pocket with a low and almost unconvinced, “Thanks,” before scrambling back into his car.

The interaction alone gets Jaebum’s blood pumping loudly in his ears. When he gets into his respective truck he glances back to find Jinyoung still staring at him with distracted eyes. Jaebum doesn’t know why his cheeks heat up at the attention he receives, but as Jinyoung pulls away from the station and Jaebum leaves soon after, the drive home is spent trying to scratch an itch under his skin that he can’t seem to find.

 


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey sorry for the late as shit updates friends... but I'm back and I'll be updating more regularly now that I'm out for the summer. Last semester got so intense I could barely handle anything, but thanks for sticking with me and sending me kind messages !

_**"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." - 1 John 3:18** _

The end of the week comes faster than Jaebum expected it would. After a wild Monday and an even weirder Tuesday dealing with  Park Jinyoung, Jaebum was ready for what Friday night entailed.

After lending Jinyoung an extra hand by paying for his gas, Jaebum had only seen Jinyoung in passing a few times during the week. Jinyoung, true to his personality, kept to himself and his house at the edge of town. He rarely ventured into town unless it was for food or something he desperately needed, and whenever possible, Jaebum would observe from off to the side. He told himself it was some sort of security for the other man and, in a sense, it was, as he kept an eye out for any mean-spirited locals. But underneath that simmered a quiet need to learn more about him, to observe.  
             
Of course, the townsfolk were wary of him, side-eying him whenever he was around; but no confrontation ever arose, which Jaebum was thankful for. In place of that, Jaebum would carefully observe Park Jinyoung, from his reserved posture to the way his hands trembled ever so lightly when he thought no one was looking.

‘Stalker’ seemed like too antagonistic of a word. Jaebum would rather consider himself a gentle guardian instead, all for reasons he was still unsure of. Because for all he knew, this Jinyoung guy really did commit the crimes he’d been accused of, yet Jaebum had been hypnotized by soft brown eyes into believing he wasn't.

Tucking his black t-shirt into his dark jeans, Jaebum forces any and all thoughts about Park Jinyoung away for the night. This is _his_ Friday night, the date he’s been pining for all summer. The only person he’s supposed to be thinking about is Wooyoung.

Jaebum decides to part his hair and slick it back, leaving just enough of the shaved undersides out that he doesn’t look too hipster. Since Wooyoung agreed to meet him at a casual diner outside of town Jaebum tops everything off with his favorite leather jacket, the sleek material rubbing together as he slips his fingers through the ends.

Overall he looks good, cleaned up and trendy compared to what he normally wears around town -since there’s never really anyone to impress. It’s just a small diner date, nothing too serious, but something that could end with Wooyoung finally accepting that something exists between them.

So, maybe it is a bigger deal than Jaebum’s leading himself to believe.

He texted Wooyoung earlier in the morning, mentioning how excited he was for their date. Wooyoung replied with the eggplant emoji and a tongue sticker, leaving not much up to Jaebum’s imagination for what they’d be doing after dinner. He sent Wooyoung another text an hour ago, giving him the address of the diner in Jinhae, but hasn’t heard anything since. He’s not bothered by it, assuming Wooyoung is doing the same thing he is before heading out.

Finding his phone again Jaebum type out an, _On my way :),_ before pocketing his phone and heading downstairs.

On the couch sits his father, the room’s lighting dim but just bright enough for the older man to read his weekly _Cheolwon Gazette._ He’s out of uniform already, meaning it must of have been a slow night, and as Jaebum pads into the living room in his non-usual attire, Chief Im tilts his paper down to peek over the edge, giving his son a once-over.

“You going out?”

On the kitchen table lays Jaebum’s keys; he plucks them up with ease.

 “Yep. Got a date tonight.”

Humming to himself, his dad pushes his glasses back to the top of his nose. “Do I know her?”

“No, you don’t,” Jaebum responds truthfully, clearing his throat. If he’s lucky, he can slip out and avoid all the questions he knows his father has about the person he’s seeing. He knows his father’s views lean more conservatively, and he has never wanted to broach the topic of him not being straight. Like most other things, he keeps his romantic interests to himself. “It’s just someone I met from uni who lives out here too.”

There’s another tense few seconds as his father watches him, and to keep from perspiring too much, Jaebum swings his key ring around his pointer finger to distract himself. His father then nods his head once and goes back to his paper.

"Have fun then.”

Not spending anymore time in the house Jaebum breathes a sigh of relief once he’s out of his father’s earshot. Because Wooyoung informed Jaebum he needed to take care of some stuff around Jinhae after they finished eating, they decide to take two cars and meet each other at the diner.

Starting up his truck, Jaebum puts his car into drive and lets the sweet sounds of the radio fill his senses for forty-five minutes. He doesn’t travel to Jinhae often but loves the city nonetheless, always excited to spend some time in the city of cherry blossoms. They come every spring and stay through the summer, making for a beautiful sight when walking through the streets. They make living out there worth it sometimes.

The diner he picked is small and out of the way, virtually unknown to the people of Cheolwon. “Virtually” as in it is known to few, as Jaebum wouldn’t be there without Mark and his friends stopping by the late-night joint during a night out in the city. The atmosphere was cool and upbeat, and left a generous impression in the back of Jaebum’s mind.

He shuts off the truck and pockets his keys, the brilliant red neon light glowing like a beacon where it decorates the signage of the building. The inside smells of hot cakes and coffee, just like Jaebum remembered from before. His mouth waters at the scent as he takes in the tables filled with the typical evening crowd, children with their parents having a late dinner and seniors talking over coffee and newspapers.

Behind the counter a red-haired older woman catches sight of Jaebum as soon as he enters. She grabs a menu and greets him with a, “Good evening sugar, right this way,” her  ponytail bouncing as she leads him to an empty booth towards the back.

“Your waiter will be right with you,” she speaks sweetly once he gets settled into the booth, removing his jacket and flipping through the menu.

The hostess leaves him alone with his thoughts; he sends Wooyoung a quick _I’m here_ and with sweaty palms sets his phone down next to him to continue skimming over the menu. Jaebum wipes his hands on the front of his pants, but he's a bit early, so he shouldn’t be so nervous that Wooyoung isn’t there -it’s not even eight o’clock yet.

Pouring over the menu to find what he’ll order when Wooyoung arrives, Jaebum misses the footsteps that come towards his booth, busy raking his eyes through the dinner selection. He doesn’t miss the clearing of a throat above him, startled in his seat when a familiar voice speaks out.

“What can I get you to drink?”

Jaebum doesn’t even have to set down his menu to see who it is -he knows who that deep honey-like voice belongs to.

Begrudgingly placing his menu face up, Jaebum stutters when he turns his head. Before him stands none other than Park Jinyoung, hoodies and beanies all gone to reveal his tidy mop of dark brown hair, bangs hardly reaching his eyes. He wears a black button up with sleeves cuffed at his slim wrists and a fitting white apron around his waist.

Jaebum is shocked - to say the least - to find Jinyoung here. This was supposed to be Jaebum’s safe space away from Cheolwon. He was supposed to be having a nice date there with no one knowing, but now it looked like his secret would be out. And to the town’s most condemned, it looked like. That was just icing on the cake.

“Oh,” he says, swallowing the last bit of saliva in his mouth to moisten his sudden dry throat. “Hi.”

The look Jinyoung gives him has Jaebum wishing he never spoke in the first place, eyes pinched with uncertainty. “Hi…” he responds in an unsure tone, and Jaebum wishes he could slap himself for acting like an idiot.

“Uh, sorry,” he mutters, licking his chapped lips as he catches Jinyoung’s concerned gaze. He must look like a total buffoon to the other man, stuttering and forgetting how to act in his presence. “I just didn’t know you worked here.”

“It’s new,” Jinyong replies curtly. His lips press into a thin line as he watches Jaebum, patiently waiting for him to answer his previous question. When Jaebum doesn’t get the hint, Jinyoung prompts him, “Drink?”

“Oh,” Jaebum blinks back to reality, feeling even more senseless. He tries not to let it show, clearing his throat as he looks down at the drink menu. “Can I get two waters?” He asks ahead of what Wooyoung will say, knowing what the older man likes. “I’m waiting on someone else.”

Jinyoung nods, “I’ll bring you out another menu then.”

With a thanks and a nod, Jinyoung leaves Jaebum for a few minutes, returning soon with another menu before Jaebum can get his bearings together.

“I guess you’ll be needing some time,” he inferences by the lack of a person on Jaebum’s other side. “Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

Suddenly embarrassed by the vacant seat across from his, Jaebum mutters a shy, “Thanks,” and watches as Jinyoung walks away. His back straightens as he meanders towards his other customers, his black shirt pinching inwards at his waist. He’s skinnier than Jaebum is, but the proportions of Jinyoung’s body fit well together, the tininess of his waist flowing into the fuller outline of his hips. It’s unusual to see the man wearing something _not_ ten times bigger than he actually is, yet alluring at the same time knowing that underneath the baggy sweaters and beanies is a man of petite and curvaceous build.

As if Jinyoung can feel Jaebum ogling him, his eyes drag back to Jaebum’s from where he’s taking the order of a group three tables down from him. And just like that night in the town hall, Jaebum can’t find the nerve to look away. Like he’s pulled into a trance, Jaebum dares to gaze into Jinyoung’s dark and broken eyes. Since he’s working Jinyoung is livelier, but the small grin he puts on for the customer doesn’t reach the emptiness of his irises. Jaebum is drawn into their void, only looking away when Jinyoung passes back into the kitchen.

Forcing himself to ignore the presence of Park Jinyoung, Jaebum turns his attention back to his phone, noting the fact that it is five minutes past eight. He chooses not to worry about Wooyoung being absent, five minutes is nothing too bad and Jaebum’s been later to worse.

Jinyoung drops by with their waters, which gives Jaebum something to do with his hands until Wooyoung arrives. He plays with the straw after he takes a refreshing sip of the beverage, biting it between his teeth and rolling it under his tongue. He spends time dragging his fingers across the condensation on the glass; it’s a familiar wet sensation that reminds him of the times he spent with his mother, when they went out to eat and spent hours talking to each other as he grew up.

Random memories like this will pop into his head, reminding him of his mother. It’s been nearly three years since her passing, but he feels the loss every day he wakes up. The hole carved out in her absence has grown smaller in the time that’s passed, but its impression will never leave. But Jaebum is fine now. He’s moved on, and although he misses her dearly, he’s doing alright on his own. His father is a constant support in his life, but there are moments when Jaebum wishes he could hear his mother’s voice giving him advice instead.

Coming back to reality, Jaebum checks the screen on his phone, sighing when the time reads later than it had before. He glances wistfully out the window in hopes to see Wooyoung’s car pulling into the diner’s parking lot, but only finds empty spaces filled with the silence of the night.

He doesn’t worry, not yet. Wooyoung often changes plans last minute, but always comes through when he needs to. There’s most likely just a bit of traffic along the way that’s got him caught up. When it’s thirty minutes past the time they agreed to meet Jaebum sends him another quick message, hopeful that his date would respond quickly.

In waiting for Wooyoung to check his phone Jaebum resorts to going through his, picking up on his last game of candy crush to beat his previous record. He fails without question, startling when the same deep voice appears from his periphery.

“Do you still need more time?”

Jaebum glances sideways at the interruption, wondering how Jinyoung has the ability to sneak up on him without a sound and if he’ll ever get used to it. Jaebum nearly starts again when he sees something else written on Jinyoung’s face entirely, his mouth turned down in a tiny pout and his brows pinched close.

Was Jinyoung… _Worried_ about him? Has he been watching Jaebum from afar, noting his expression of dismay and how his date has yet to show? Jaebum can’t tell what Jinyoung is thinking, but he knows he likes it. It’s much better than the clouded robot he’s seen before, and there’s something that twists in his gut when he thinks of Jinyoung observing him, finally reserving some sort of emotion for him.

“Um, yeah,” he smiles bashfully, partly embarrassed by the fact that he’s still sitting alone after forty-five minutes. Jinyoung doesn’t comment on his predicament, to which Jaebum is grateful. “We’ll give them more time.”

Nodding, Jinyoung’s lips part like he’s on the verge of saying something else. Jaebum’s heart hammers in his throat wondering if Jinyoung is going to finally say something non-situational to him, but then suddenly Jinyoung is closing his mouth and walking back into the kitchen. Jaebum is all but disappointed, but doesn’t miss the sorry expression the mysterious man wears as he goes.

It goes on like that for the rest of the night. Time will pass, Jaebum will dial Wooyoung’s number with no response, Jinyoung will come check on him, Jaebum will give it more time, then worry hopelessly.

At this point in the night Jaebum’s waited nearly two hours for Wooyoung to show up, a broken promise and blind faith that he would actually stay true to his word. Jaebum feels lost, stupid for trusting the jerk and embarrassed that the staff probably knows he’s been stood up. It’s tiring, because he really likes Wooyoung, but deserves better than this. Jaebum knows that this is just like Wooyoung to cancel without a word, but he was hopeful the older had changed, would have given their ~whatever~ a chance. Now he’s just numb to the feeling of the world, pinching his eyes together to keep from crying. God, he was such an idiot.

Over the time he chose to wait patiently customers have come and gone, the last few trickling out as the night wears on. Jaebum doesn’t know what time it is and doesn’t care. He sets his head in his hands and sighs, giving himself a mental peptalk of how he’s going to walk out of the diner with his ego still intact.

While divulging in his intricate plan he tunes out the restaurant, effectively missing the fact that he’s the last customer inside and the wait staff have begun to clean the place up. No one says anything to him as he sulks to himself, Jaebum’s mopy inner-monologue interrupted only when the hostess from before calls out to him in her motherly voice.

“Hey son, we’re getting ready to close.” Jaebum turns to her as she tosses a cashmere jacket on over her uniform. She looks up at him softly, but with sympathetic eyes. “She’s not worth it.”

 Jaebum blanches at her words but accepts the sentiment anyway; she’s just a sweet older woman looking after him. She leaves the diner briskly and as the door shuts behind her Jaebum casts his eyes down at his hands.

He pulls himself up from the booth and tugs on his leather jacket, then pulls out his wallet and around and notes himself as the only one left. Jinyoung must be somewhere in the back finishing up, so Jaebum finds this the perfect opportunity to get lost before his ego is crushed any further.drops a few bills on the table despite not ordering anything. He takes another swig from his glass of water to clear his throat before padding to the counter. Jinyoung appears then with a broom in his hand, startled by Jaebum's presence.

“How much do I owe for the water?” He asks solemnly, pulling out his wallet.

Jinyoung's eyes fall to his hands, then back to his face. “Nothing. It's free.”

Jaebum blanches, somehow feeling even more like a fool. “Oh,” he mumbles, not meeting the other's eyes as he packs his money away. To keep some sort of dignity left he figures this is a good place to leave their interaction for the time being. “Have a good night.”

Jinyoung's hand twists on the broom handle, expression blank as Jaebum spins on his heels to walk away. He only gets halfway to the doors when Jinyoung is calling out to him with a tremor in his voice.

“Wait just one second,” he says, propping his broom against the counter. He disappears then, leaving Jaebum frozen to the floor until his head pops back out of the kitchen moments later. In his hand is a single white plate, a small meal perfectly placed on top. Jinyoung swivels around the counter to face Jaebum, handing it out for him to seemingly take. “You can have the leftovers. I’m sorry you had to wait without eating anything. You can stay until I lock up, or take it to go if you don’t wish to stay.”

There’s a few seconds as they watch each other where Jaebum doesn’t know what to do. The plate looks too furnished to be just leftovers, the main course and a side prepared too neatly. He insinuates that Jinyoung must have made this plate for himself after his shift was over, but is now giving it to him. Jaebum would never dream of taking another man’s hard earned food, but the twist in his gut tells him he’s way overdue for a meal.

Still, Jaebum stands his ground, not wanting to take something that isn’t his. “Oh, thank you. But I’m actually not that hungry.”

Jinyoung stares at him like he sees right through his lie, having waited there now for two hours and only consuming water. Jaebum’s stomach doesn’t seem to approve of the lie either, grumbling loud enough for both of the men to hear in the emptiness of the room.

Jinyoung scoffs lightly with no harm, shoving the plate into Jaebum’s hands and giving him little time to grab hold before letting go. “Like I said, you can stay or you can take it to go.”

 Jinyoung turns from him then, leaving Jaebum to stare down at the steak, rice, and vegetables beckoning him to take a bite. The smell invades his nostrils, and unable to keep his front up, Jaebum gives in and finds his place back in the booth. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Across the diner Jinyoung doesn’t cease dragging the bristles of his broom across the tiles floor. “Think of it as a thank you for filling my tank up the other day.”

“You really don’t have to thank me for that,” Jaebum pauses chewing with a bite of steak still in his mouth. He swallows, not wanting to sound like a neanderthal. “I was taught to always show kindness. I see the way the townspeople have been behaving. They look down on you, and I think it sucks.”

He snaps his mouth shut, not knowing why he’s saying what he is. He and Jinyoung have barely talked in the five days he’s been in town, Jaebum shouldn’t be bringing something as serious as this up. But at the same time, he feels like he needs too - to let Jinyoung know that there’s at least someone out there who sees the other side of things.

There’s a tense moment after Jaebum speaks when no other words are transmitted between the two. Jinyoung stares, hard and unconcealed, like a baby coming out of the womb - open and bare. Jaebum is once again held captive by his burning gaze, no choice but to hold his own. There’s a hint of raw fear painted in the swirls of his tepid irises, the most emotion Jaebum’s seen in Jinyoung thus far. It makes him wonder what else he can get Jinyoung to express to him, and without thinking, he presses forward without thinking of the consequences.

“They have no right to treat you like shit.”

The pointed frown Jinyoung spotted quickly shifts back into a line and he stands up straight. In a flash he’s back to being the cold stranger Jaebum’s come to know him as.

“I’m guessing you must not of known who I was before,” Jinyoung inquires, setting down the broom once more as he walks away from the counter. He takes exactly ten steps and finds himself at the edge of Jaebum’s table. “But I assume you’ve been informed by now.”

Jinyoung looks nothing but threatening with his height looming over Jaebum perched in his seat. Jaebum tries not to show the sudden spike in his heart rate or the sweat prickling at his temples; looking up he feels like an ant about to be squished by a boot. Jaebum gulps. “I’ve heard a few things.”

“Probably nothing too good.”

“Nothing I care to pay attention to.” It feels nice admitting it. Jaebum’s never been one to submerge himself in gossip, or believe the rumors about somebody right off the bat. This case was different, since he was the only one in town who didn’t know, but after he did his research he drew his own opinions away from what the town believed. Plus, he hopes Jinyoung would find comfort in the fact that at least one person didn’t hate his guts. “I like to make my own judgements about people.”

Jaebum’s words must strike a chord within Jinyoung, because he breathes a small sigh of relief and softens his gaze. He looks unsure at first, eyeing the seat across from Jaebum a moment before sliding in himself. If Jaebum is startled he doesn’t show it, in fact he’s thrilled that Jinyoung has continued to talk to him. It’s amazing that he hasn’t kicked him out yet either, or worse.

Eyes cast downwards, Jinyoung gives off the aura of a baby deer, out of place from the environment but still looking for a way to fit in. He licks his lips, Jaebum’s eyes immediately drawn to the action.

“You’d be wise to listen to them.”

Taken aback by his response, Jaebum finds himself glancing casually at the tips of Jinyoung’s fingernails where his hands link together on the table. They’re worn down, like they’ve seen decades of damage. He wonders what stories they can tell him about Jinyoung’s past, from his arsenic ways to the pencils he’s used to finish homework assignments and the things he’s googled searched. Jaebum glances back up, finding Jinyoung looking right back. “And why’s that?”

“Because once you stray from what the town wants, then you become a martyr.”

His voice doesn’t waver. He doesn’t flinch, look away, or sound uneasy. It’s like Jinyoung is merely reading a fact off a prompter, a fact which Jaebum refuses to accept.

“Well I’m an outsider too, they still don’t consider me as one of their own yet. I think I’ll be fine.” He says it with complete sincerity. He doesn’t care what the town thinks, and at this point, he’s only one summer away of leaving forever. If anything comes to light this summer - hooking up with Wooyoung, speaking to Park Jinyoung - Jaebum isn’t scared of the consequences.

Sitting back, Jinyoung crosses his arms and studies Jaebum like his mind is too complex to attempt to dive into. “That may be so, but why even take the chance? Why would you help me? Why bother talking to me right now if you know who I am?”

“Because you’re still a human being,” Jaebum offers, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He gets gutsy then, testing himself and Jinyoung's boundaries, if only to get some sort of reaction of of him. “And I don’t think you did it.”

Jinyoung’s jaw clenches and he visibly shifts in his seat. “What is the ‘It’ you are referring to?”

“The fire.” Jaebum almost wonders by the uncomfortable twitch in Jinyoung’s finger if he should stop, drop the subject altogether and leave before he says something he’ll regret. But Jaebum’s got Jinyoung hooked on his line, and this may be his only chance to hear anything directly from the source. He pushes, sinking into the most human Park Jinyoung has ever looked. “The one about, ten years ago, I think? You didn’t do it, right?”

“You don't know anything about that,” Jinyoung speaks softly, balancing his elbows on the table. He's calmer than Jaebum expected him to be, a strand of hair falling into his eyes before he flicks it to the side with his wrist gracefully. “You didn’t live here back then.”

“No, but my father did. And he’s maintained that you didn’t do it.”

A disbelieving breathy chuckle exits Jinyoung’s mouth and he shifts his gaze to the window. “Your dad has always been too kind for his own good.”

Jaebum is too preoccupied examining Jinyoung’s side profile, noting the slope of his nose and the roundness of his cheeks that the words nearly go over his head. Blinking back in excitement, there’s a sort of thrill that buzzes under Jaebum’s skin at Jinyoung suddenly knowing who his father is and what that entails about himself.

“So you know who I am then?” He gulps.

“Of course,” Jinyoung responds, like knowing Jaebum wasn’t even a question. “When someone is stalking me, I like to know who they are, Im Jaebum.”

Jinyoung turns back to him then, eyebrows raised in wait of Jaebum’s confirmation that he’s right. Coughing, the older forgets how to speak.

Jaebum’s blood runs cold. “I-I wasn’t-”

“So you _weren’t_ watching me around town all week from the most obscure places?” Jinyoung asks with the hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“I mean I was but not in a weird way,” he rambles, hairs prickling on the back of his neck. Jaebum can’t even hide it now, Jinyoung’s obviously known for awhile now. He’s suddenly very nervous in Jinyoung’s presence, now having the information that he knew Jaebum had been watching him in secret from across town. He’s reached ultimate creep levels, and prays Jinyoung isn’t about to do something like jab him in the face - which he probably rightfully deserves. “I was just looking out for you, for my dad’s sake.”

Jinyoung seems to consider Jaebum’s truthful words, but is apprehensive of the older man if the squint of his eyes is anything to go by. And with Jinyoung berating him with his eyes again Jaebum feels naked and cold with nothing to cover himself up with. He bites his bottom lip to compensate for the tense silence as Jinyoung searches for what to say next. When he finds it, he clears his throat delicately.

“You know, Chief Im was the only person who looked out for me. Everyone wanted to label me a criminal, or lock me up. He’s the only person who ever saw that I needed help.” There’s a sadness buried deep within Jinyoung’s tone, eyes glazed over while he thinks pensively. But Jaebum also detects a hint of fondness when Jinyoung speaks of his father, and wonders just how far back the two of them actually go.

“I’m sorry,” Jinyoung pauses, wiping the memories from his face. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

“It’s okay, I’m a good listener.”

At that Jinyoung snorts, but levels his voice to convey his seriousness. “Just like with your father. I appreciate your help, but I can take care of myself.”

“Right, sorry.” Jaebum doesn’t want to say he’s disappointed - like he’s just been rejected - but it feels like a slap in the face. For some odd reason it stings more than Wooyoung standing him up does, perhaps because in one way or another Jaebum really feels like it’s his duty to look out for Jinyoung just like his father did.

The air dips into awkwardness as they stay seated together, Jaebum clearing his throat to get rid of some of the weird tension. He decides to change the subject, wanting to keep Jinyoung talking, not knowing when he’ll ever have this opportunity again. “So why a job all the way out here?”

“You’re very naive to think anyone in their right mind would hire me in Cheolwon,” Jinyoung criticizes. It doesn’t sting, but it does make the blood drain from Jaebum’s face as he blinks back. Jinyoung must notice, cooling his expression down into an apology. “Sorry, sometimes I don’t filter what comes out of my mouth.”

“It’s okay, I get it,” Jaebum admits fondly, remembering what his father told him about the lack of empathy Jinyoung used to carry. “I just wasn’t expecting to you see you here of all places.”

“And why are you here then?” Dismissing the original question, Jinyoung flips the interrogating around seamlessly so  Jaebum is the victim of inquiry. “Seems awfully far to go for a date. I’m assuming it was a date since you look rather nice and were perspiring a lot every time I came to check on you.”

As Jinyoung speaks Jaebum finds it very easy to listen, the younger’s deep vibrato a warm contrast to the bright surroundings of the diner. His mind gets stuck on _you look rather nice_ and without warning an inexplicable heat rises to the tips of his ears.

“It was supposed to be, just to get away from town.” He fights off the foreign feeling, which is easy when he remembers the disaster of a date caused by his asshole of a love interest. He’d forgotten completely about Wooyoung and the mockery he made of Jaebum while talking to Jinyoung, but now the previous two hours sit heavy in the back of his mind. “My date uh, obviously had other plans.”

“Well they’re not very kind now are they?” Jinyoung remarks sincerely, observing the way Jaebum’s face falls in disappointment. Jaebum perks his head back up with a shy smile in thanks, having no time to prepare for the next thing that Jinyoung offers.

“I can set their house on fire, if you want.”

For a moment Jaebum just sits there blinking, unsure if he heard that right. He searches the other man’s face, flustered by how genuine Jinyoung sounds about the proposition. Jaebum’s caught so off guard that his mouth falls open without permission and his eyes bulge wide. He misses entirely the modest peak of Jinyoung’s lips that curls into the slightest smirk, too busy trying to catch his breath and stop the hammering of his heart.

Like it never formed in the first place Jinyoung’s mouth falls back into a tight line, worry replacing the hint of a smile from before. “I wasn’t serious.”

Despite the initial shock Jaebum feels a wave of relief wash over him, dabbing the sweat from the back of his neck. He can’t help but laugh out loud at the incredibly ill-fated joke, finding that even though he’s the silent brooding type, Park Jinyoung can be funny. Hilarious even, as Jaebum falls into a fit of laughter that has him wiping away stray tears.

When he calms down from his fit he finds Jinyoung no longer frowning, face perked up from the sounds of Jaebum enjoying Jinyoung’s irony. It’s cute, he finds, and wants to see how far he can go to get Jinyoung to give him a real smile, or maybe even a chuckle. The latter seems too far-fetched, but Jaebum is so drawn to the sight of a non-moping Jinyoung that he puts it on his to-do list and settles back into his seat. His laughter is gone, but his smile stays as he seeks to bring something else up on his mind.

“You should come visit my dad sometime. I’m sure he’d like to see you again.”

Besides their initial meetings at the hardware store and the town meeting, the only real thing that connects Jaebum to Jinyoung is his father. His father who helped Jinyoung with his problems and looked after him like he was his own son when Jaebum wasn’t around. It’s a somber thought, that the person sitting before him spent so much more time with and probably knew his dad more than he ever did growing up, but Jaebum doesn’t feel any animosity towards Jinyoung. He’s proud of his dad for doing what he thinks is right.

Jaebum and Jinyoung share that common interest - Jaebum’s dad - who still believes Jinyoung is innocent till this day. It’s perhaps why Jinyoung has found enough trust in the moment to continue confiding in Jaebum with the threat of the town on his shoulders. Even if Jinyoung is only talking to him because of his father, Jaebum will accept it with no hard feelings.

“No, I can’t. It’s been too long,” Jinyoung admits after biting his bottom lip in thought. “I wouldn’t know what to say to him.”

Jaebum gets it. It’s been ten years since the pair last saw each other, and although he thinks it could be good for Jinyoung to get back in touch with a friendly face, he doesn’t want to pry. “I understand.”

Jinyoung nods respectfully, eyes catching on something at the opposite end of the table. Jaebum follows his gaze, finding the simple white candle still burning brightly. It’s like a beacon of circumstance, the blues of the flame meshing with the orange and whites.

“Sure you should be around something like that?” Jaebum asks sincerely, diving into the dark pools of Jinyoung’s eyes. The flame flickers silently in his brown hues, and when Jinyoung tears them away his pupils are dilated with mirth.

“If you’re referring to my tendencies of pyromania,” he questions inquisitively, licking the pads of his thumb and pointer finger before bringing it to the candle’s wick. He stifles the flame in one easy pinch of the blacked material, unflinching as he cleans his fingers of the dark residue on a discarded towel. “I’m clean. I don’t do that anymore.”

Jaebum doesn’t believe Jinyoung is fully telling the truth, if the way his fingers twitch as he edges closer to the candle is anything to go by. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

When there’s nothing else left to say Jaebum stands from the booth with his untouched plate. “I’ve taken up too much of your time. I’ll just take the rest to go.”

Meeting him, Jinyoung rises from his seat and staggers behind the counter. He emerges with a to-go box, fixing Jaebum’s meal inside for him. Their hands tangle together when the box is handed back to him, the contact almost burning. Ignoring the sensation Jaebum dares to slide his fingers over Jinyoung’s wrist, squeezing comfortably. Maybe he does it in thanks for Jinyoung being generous, or maybe because they’ve connected over their moment in the diner, Jaebum doesn’t know.

He does know that Jinyoung turns up surprise, but breathes a sigh of relief, understanding what Jaebum is conveying.

 _You can trust me_ , the gesture says, and Jinyoung nods without saying a word.

With nothing left for them there Jaebum pads to the door, pausing when he gets halfway through. He glimpses back, finding Jinyoung back at his place behind the counter resuming his cleanup.

“Hey, do you need a ride?”

Jinyoung glances up, biting his lip. “Um, thanks but you filled-”

“I filled your tank up earlier, right.” Jaebum finishes for him as he remembers, white hot embarrassment nipping at his skin. He flushes pink, suddenly nervous and wobbly on his feet. “Well, thanks for the pity food. I’ll see you around.”

Without fail Jaebum gives Jinyoung a last goodbye, earning him a small wave in return. He exits the diner with a skip in his step, mind still in disbelief that _the_ Park Jinyoung spoke more than two-worded sentences to him.

He thinks about their interaction all the way home, completely forgetting about Wooyoung and their failed date. He thinks about it as he brushes his teeth and tucks himself into bed - how Jinyoung was kind enough to spare him a meal reserved for himself, how his walls came down a little, and how he regarded Jaebum unlike the others.

Jaebum drifts into sleep with Park Jinyoung still on his mind.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I'm updating this too while we're here !!! I'm glad I'm getting back into the swing of writing this!!! :) Lemme know whatcha think!!

**_"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." - Proverbs 13:20_ **

 

Saturday and Sunday pass in a blur of video games and beer.

While not the ideal weekend for Jaebum, the constant flow of alcohol and mindless tapping of his controller helped take his mind off of Wooyoung standing him up. After arriving home Friday night he had felt numb and hurt by the actions of the older man, and when his father asked him how the date went, Jaebum smiled shortly and informed him, “It’s not gonna work out.” Wooyoung didn’t try contacting him all weekend, not like Jaebum would respond anyway.

He attempted to sleep the feeling off but woke up Saturday morning feeling even worse. He felt like a complete idiot, like Wooyoung had missed their date purposefully to embarrass Jaebum. He invited Yugyeom over for the day and the pair sat in front of Jaebum’s old television running people over in grand theft auto. Each person Jaebum hit he pretended was Wooyoung, which helped ease his anger as he imagined Wooyoung’s head being taken out over and over again.

Yugyeom didn’t ask why Jaebum was being so violent with the game that day, and for that he was grateful, as Jaebum was nowhere ready to reveal his biggest secret yet. He knew Yugyeom wouldn't care, but still, he just wasn't ready.

When Sunday came around the anger and embarrassment had faded from his shoulders as acceptance and understanding took over. It took him an entire day and a two-hour shower to get his thoughts in a coherent order.

First, Jaebum realized that Wooyoung being an asshole had nothing to do with his personality, despite what he and everyone else claimed. Wooyoung was an asshole because he chose to be, and Jaebum was finally done pretending the older man was unaware of his actions. This was just one time of many Wooyoung chose to flake on Jaebum without letting him know, and knowing it was an important night for the theoretical progression of their relationship made it obvious that Wooyoung knew what he was doing by standing Jaebum up.

Second, Jaebum was tired of coming in second. Whatever Wooyoung did was always first when it came to Jaebum, and he was finally ready to admit it. He was tired of Wooyoung making promises to him then falling through, then only coming back to him when he needed to get off. Wooyoung was a great fuck sure, and Jaebum would consider it just that if the older hadn’t have already made certain promises to him. But he couldn’t be like that with Wooyoung anymore if he was going to think of his own feelings and mental health.

And third, Jaebum was over it. In every sense of the word. Two days full of self-loathing, anger, and revelation pushed him over the edge. He was ready to end things with Wooyoung, something he should have done months ago but was too blind to do so.

He goes to work on Monday morning with a plan on how to end their _whatever_ , but doesn’t seek Wooyoung out himself. Since Wooyoung feels good about not responding to him, Jaebum’s not even going to try. When Wooyoung seeks Jaebum out next, _then_ he’ll break things off for good.

Throughout the day there aren’t many people that come by the shop, and in true Jaebum fashion he takes an extra thirty minutes for his lunch break, locking the door behind him and flipping his _In_ sign to _Out_. He doesn’t give a time for when he’ll be back, not expecting many to come by and figuring no one actually pays attention to the times he leaves anyways.

He takes the back road into town, stopping by the drive-thru of the failed restaurant chain of the Thai Bhuwakul’s. Another family that came from out of the country decades ago and have been slowly embraced and settled into the town, the Bhuwakul’s are known for their heaven-sent Thai-inspired cuisine and ramen that could give the expensive shops in Seoul a run for their money.

Years ago the Bhuwakul’s had tried to market their restaurant and spread it to other parts of the country. While the food remained top-tier the business went under as it barely raked in any customers and went belly up. After only a year and a half the Bhuwakul’s were forced to close down the two other chains they placed in Busan and Seoul, and currently only run their original outlet down in Cheolwon.

Jaebum eases nicely into drive-thru, foot soft on the pedal. He scans the outside menu just to confirm what he’s getting, fighting off the desire to order all the tasty Thai dishes. He settles on a quick and easy cheesy ramen, a soft voice speaking an accented Korean reading back his order.

At the window he’s met by a familiar face. Well, technically everyone in the town is a familiar face to Jaebum, even if he barely interacts with them. Same can be said for the boy hanging out the delivery window, the second oldest son of the Bhuwakul family.

“Ah Jaebum-ssi, I knew that voice sounded familiar.”

BamBam changes his hair so often Jaebum doesn’t even blink at the highlights of red mixed in with his sleek black, amazed his scalp hasn’t faced much damage from the continuous bleaching. The Thai boy is always decked out in black nail polish, a flashy choker and earrings, making him a standout in the town.

Jaebum doesn’t really talk to BamBam often; their paths just never seem to cross. The Bhuwakul’s are sort of considered recluses in their own sense as well, sticking to running their business during the day and keeping to themselves at night. Though they still barely know each other Jaebum greets BamBam like he would any other local, even if he goes a little red at the fact that he comes here often enough that the younger boy recognizes his voice.

“How have you been?” The younger asks, bagging Jaebum’s food with an over exaggerated flick of his wrist.

Jaebum rolls his eyes but still manages to smile at the action, BamBam always being one for the dramatics. _He’d be a great idol_ , Jaebum thinks, handing over his card. “I’m good, but the town’s been crazy though.”

This elicits a snicker out of BamBam as he takes the plastic from between Jaebum’s fingers. “Cheolwon is always crazy. You’ll have to be more specific.”

Taking his debit card back after it’s processed, Jaebum considers what to say next. He doesn’t really have long conversations with BamBam ever, and the topic might be a little iffy to start with. But then again, he’s only blabbering _nonchalantly_ about what he’s observed the past week on the subject of a _certain_ someone that’s disrupted things.

“Just that new guy that came in,” he shrugs, not making too much of a big deal over it. “He turned the town on their heads. Not many people can do that.”

“Park Jinyoung?” Across the window Jaebum nods, and BamBam passes his ramen with the corner of his lips turned up in a chuckle. “Yeah, he’s known for doing that.”

“Well,” Jaebum mutters, tilting his head slightly. He doesn’t want it to be public knowledge yet that he doesn’t side with the town on what they think about Jinyoung, so he plays it off innocently to try and gage BamBam’s feelings on the matter. “They have every reason to be wary, don’t they?”

The effect is instantaneous, BamBam’s smile falling into a tight line. Jaebum means to examine what it conveys, but the younger turns from him in silence to put a lid on his coke, handing it back with sad eyes.

“You shouldn't listen to what everyone says,” BamBam notes, hanging out the window more than necessary with concern on his face. “Jinyoung isn’t a bad guy.”

Jaebum had expected some kind of anecdote about why he shouldn’t trust Jinyoung from some off-putting personal experience, not BamBam taking a seat on the defense. Taken back by BamBam’s expressively-worried tone Jaebum can only manage a nod in response.

So he waits to see if BamBam will expand on what he means and how he knows Jinyoung isn’t the bad guy everyone claims him to be. It makes Jaebum wonder what BamBam knows that the rest of the town - and he - doesn't.

Not wanting to turn their interaction awkward, Jaebum resolves to keeping his questions to himself even though they burn in the back of his mind. He switches his gears to drive. “Um, have a nice day, BamBam-ssi.”

BamBam sighs. “You too.”

Driving off with an uneasy feeling fogging up the air around him, Jaebum drives in the direction of Seongnam Lake, a staple in his places to go when Cheolwon just gets too much for him, a twenty five minute drive opposite of Busan. Hoping the environment will clear his mind, he takes his sweet time eating and soaking in the sounds of the frogs and ducks cortling around him. They soothe him, as does the slow trickling of the water anytime a fish swims by.

He doesn’t say too long, not wanting to appear too late and unprofessional for work. The short time he spends at the lake does aid in mellowing him out, and by the time he arrives at the shop he’s only thinking about how much plywood he needs to order to keep the back stocked.

What he doesn’t expect to find when he arrives is a second truck parked outside his doors and person leaning against the store windows in a grey hoodie, his face obscured. The person in question lifts their head at the sound of Jaebum arriving, and only after he swipes the keys out of the ignition and shuts the door does he recognizes the face of the one and only Park Jinyoung.

Their interaction at the diner solidified an undeniable conjunction between the two, far from a friendship but a step up from strangers. Whether or not Jinyoung feels it too, Jaebum can sense the air around them has changed from that of misunderstood tension to amicable sentiment.

Jaebum spent the whole weekend getting over Wooyoung, but Jinyoung stayed pressed deep inside his nerve endings, ironically like a fire unable to be stifled. And although they haven’t spoken since, Jaebum hopes Jinyoung knows they’re both on the same side.

“Oh hey.”

“Hey,” Jinyoung repeats warily. He follows Jaebum’s hands as they carefully unlock the front door, stepping back to give him space to open it. “You’re late.”

Jaebum’s fingers pause around the handle. “Huh?”

To absolve Jaebum’s confusion, Jinyoung points towards the little _Will Be Back At:_ sign hanging from the door’s window. Just like every other day, the little hand lands on _one_ and the big hand sits on _twelve._

Jaebum at least has some decency to look ashamed for being over thirty minutes late. “Sorry about that. I uh, needed some ‘me’ time.” He leads Jinyoung inside, hoping that didn’t come off as slightly lewd, much to what it could imply. “Were you waiting long?”

“Only fifteen minutes,” Jinyoung announces like it’s customary to do so. He tugs his hood down, revealing the same ugly black beanie he wore when he first walked into Jaebum’s shop. “I don’t mind, so don’t worry.”

By the time Jaebum fits into his place behind the counter and turned on the cash register, Jinyoung is a millions miles away, hidden out of site between the aisles. Even though Jinyoung didn’t mind the wait Jaebum still feels bad for taking away some of his time, and calls out a, “Let me know if you need help finding anything!” over the tops of the aisles.

Dropping back to the soles of his feet, Jaebum pretends like Jinyoung just being in the same room as him doesn't make him hyper-aware of everything he does. He ignores the feelings of anticipation that tread under his skin, settling down in his chair and turning his old tv box on to take his mind off the captivating man in his store.

Jaebum flicks hastily through the few channels he gets, and just when he lands on a program that looks familiar to him, the door squeaks open and another customer strides inside.

He doesn’t bother to look up immediately, turning down the volume on his television set. If he had, he would have noticed the familiar heavy footsteps. “What can I do for you today-” Jaebum finally looks up, air leaving his chest when the person he wasn’t ready for stands before him, characteristically sensuous in posture. “Wooyoung.”

Jaebum’s throat dries as the man he currently has no infatuation for anymore looks on with an air of innocence surrounding him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I thought maybe we could take some time and,” wiggling his eyebrows up and down, he passes his obscene request onto Jaebum with no words needed. “Go in the back.”

Was Wooyoung really doing this? Did he collectively forget he stood Jaebum up over the weekend with so much as a text message to let him know he wouldn’t be there? Jaebum has felt every emotion humanly possible for Wooyoung over the past three days, from confusion to heartbreak and fury. And Wooyoung... well Wooyoung can’t even be bothered to look sympathetic.

Now he’s coming back to Jaebum - just like he’d predicted - looking for a quick fuck that will mean nothing by the time he pulls out. Jaebum holds back a broken laugh at the admirable consistency.

He remembers how calm Jinyoung seemed to be every time someone threw a nasty comment his way, and settles his mouth into a collected line, not wanting to burst a blood vein. “I already had my lunch break.”

"So? A few extra minutes isn’t going to hurt anybody.”

“I can’t right now,” Jaebum motions his head over Wooyoung’s shoulder to the back of the store, watching as Jinyoung’s head quickly darts back down to the pliers on the racks. He isn’t as fast as he thinks he is - Jaebum knows he’s eavesdropping. At this point, he doesn’t even care.

Following Jaebum’s movements, Wooyoung glances back, shoulders stiffening when he registers who else is in the store. “Hey, watch your back when that guy’s around,” he informs as he looks back to Jaebum, lowering his voice, but keeping it just loud enough for Jinyoung to hear. “He’s fucking crazy.”

“Yah, Jang Wooyoung!” Jaebum exclaims in fury. It causes the man in question to jump back from the counter, which in his peripheral catches Jinyoung’s  attention. He clenches his jaw to keep his anger at bay, because this is not what they’re going to do. Wooyoung is not going to come in here and pretend like everything is okay then act like an asshole to someone else who's minding their own business. Jaebum cools his voice down lower, not wanting to draw more attention to himself. “That’s enough. You need to leave.”

Wooyoung's lips curl in annoyance as he scoffs. “Excuse me?”

“Get out,” he reiterates, pointing his hand towards the entrance. “I’m not in the mood for you right now.”

“Where the fuck is this coming from?”

Jaebum is done trying to hold back his anger, disgusted by Wooyoung’s disregard for anything that doesn’t revolve around him. He’s unable to hide the animosity that drips of his tongue, a venomous bite straight to the older’s veins. “I don’t know, maybe Friday night, eight o’clock? The diner you were supposed to meet me at?”

Wooyoung shifts back on his heels with confusion, but his eyes betray everything. Jaebum can see the thoughts rolling around before understanding takes over, then finally, an unaffected awareness.

“Hey, I really am sorry about that, something came up.”

“So you couldn’t call me? Leave me a message?” He articulates with his fingers, digging them pointedly into the cashmere material of Wooyoung’s jacket lapels. It takes Jaebum all he has not to spit in his face, remembering where they are and who’s watching. It doesn’t stop him from imagining it though. “I waited two hours for you. You know how pathetic I looked sitting there all alone for _two_ hours because I was waiting on someone who wasn’t going to show up?”

It’s amazing the older hasn’t had an outburst yet, known for having a short-temper. But it’s there, the anger slowly invading his body all the way to where his shoulders strain in their material. “Look, I’ll make it up to you.”

“No hyung, you won’t. I’m tired of playing his game with you.” Jaebum squeals, dropping his hands to his sides in clenched fists. “Now get out.”

“Jaebum-ah you’re being unreasonable!” Wooyoung bursts in a whisper, slamming his hand onto the counter. With his anger having shown it’s ugly face Jaebum jumps back in alarm, but vows not to give up and stands his ground.

“Wooyoung hyung,” he grits between clenched teeth. “So help me if you don’t get out of my store right now I’m going to-”

“You’re going to what-”

“I’m going to-”

“Excuse me,” comes from a third voice behind Wooyoung, bold enough to render the two boys silent in their quarreling. Jinyoung stands as the pair face him, innocently holding a basket in his arms. “Can I check out now?”

With Wooyoung’s back to him Jaebum throws Jinyoung a look that says _What are you doing?_ Jinyoung catches the look but disregards it completely, soft eyes darting between the two as they watch him in awe.

Wooyoung gives Jinyoung an obvious disapproving glance as he eyes him heavily from head to toe. Jaebum waits with a bated breath for who-knows-what to happen next, silently cursing Jinyoung for entering the same space as Wooyoung. He doesn’t understand what in Jinyoung’s mind would tell him of all times that _now_ would be a good time to make an appearance, and it’s not until Wooyoung thrashes Jaebum’s inventory notebook to the ground and slams the door on his way out that it clicks.

Jinyoung wasn’t invading their conversation to involve himself in drama, or being a customer too busy to notice his surroundings. He did it to save Jaebum from a particularly rowdy spat that could have gone south knowing Wooyoung’s temper, and he did it with no hesitation.

The mark of the fight settles itself into Jaebum’s gut, and he has to pinch his eyes closed to keep from crying. It’s stupid, he knows, but Wooyoung did mean something to him before, and even though he’s over it, the memory will always sting.

Pinching the bow of his nose with two fingers, Jaebum schools his expression back to where it was before Wooyoung entered. He sighs out loud, almost forgetting Jinyoung is still there.

“Sorry about that,” he manages dryly, daring to take a glimpse at Jinyoung’s expression. What he finds causes his breath to hitch.

It’s not obvious to the everyday person, but because Jaebum’s studied Jinyoung’s expressions he notices the moment they change. And now, both men glancing at each other, there’s a melancholy depth in Jinyoung’s downtrodden eyes, paired beautifully with the hint of a pout. It’s new, and different, but unexpectedly shifts something in Jaebum’s chest as he watches Jinyoung steadily bend down to hand the inventory book back to him.

“Are you okay?” He asks Jaebum with concern.

Jaebum wonders if his father was wrong about Jinyoung lacking empathy. Granted that was years ago when Jinyoung was a rambunctious kid, not this adult that’s grown and learned. The shell of worry is written plainly on his face, like it’s nothing foreign to him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he states, the rhythm of his heart stuttering as Jinyoung breathes out in relief. After watching the action Jaebum coughs to remedy the feeling in his chest. Biting his lip, he starts unloading the basket and laughs, “I might just take you up on that offer... to set his house on fire.”

Glancing back Jinyoung hesitates, the corners of his mouth barely curling into a sliver of a smile. It’s not much, but it sends shivers down Jaebum’s spine at its implication.

But in the next instant, the emotion is gone, as if he showed too much at once. He stands drained down to his cold stare of intensity. Disappointment twists Jaebum’s gut raw, feeling partly responsible for the change in Jinyoung’s demeanor. Just when he thought Jinyoung was crawling out from behind his wall he dives back around it, and Jaebum can only hope there will be another chance for him to see it again.

Falling back into his normal routine, Jaebum tries not to feel too distraught as he scans Jinyoung’s items and bags them. After reading the amount Jaebum fully expects Jinyoung to pull his card out, but is surprised when a checkbook is laid on the counter between them.

Checks aren’t that out of the ordinary, but not many young people in Korean society use them nowadays. It’s easy to watch Jinyoung’s slim fingers write along the rectangular strip of paper, but instead Jaebum drags his eyes upwards, finding Jinyoung’s clear face turned down pensively.

The sculpted brows that frame his face are arched down perfectly, bleeding into his hooded lashes that cast illuminating shadows onto his cheekbones. With full cheeks and skin that glows under the light fixtures, Jaebum always forgets how striking Jinyoung’s beauty is. He noticed it during their first meeting, when Jinyoung was cold and reserved to the point that it confused Jaebum to no end. He’s noticed it the other few times they’ve spoken, but now since Jinyoung’s letting something slip through his solemn persona, he looks timeless, like he’s fighting for the other side of him to break free.

Perhaps he’s scared of seeing that side of him, or maybe he only lets his guard down around certain people. Whichever is the case Jaebum feels a need to see more of what Jinyoung can let slip out.

Signing the check with ease Jinyoung’s tongue pokes out of his mouth in concentration, a saccharine sight that has Jaebum adding the visual to the list of mannerisms Jinyoung has. Jinyoung’s mouth is firm, but his lips look light and plushy. Jaebum has to wonder if they’re as soft as they look.

Stopping himself from making things weirder than they’re already heading, Jaebum looks away to find Jinyoung staring back at him with an inquisitive rise of his eyebrows. If Jinyoung caught him he doesn’t mention it, and Jaebum at least has the decency to look embarrassed as he takes the check and deposits it in the register.

He fully expects Jinyoung to leave without saying anything else, and stares in amazement when he doesn’t, one hand nervously sliding into his front pocket.

“Is the offer still up to help with my house?” He asks sincerely, biting his lip. “I’m going to be taking more hours at work because I need the money, but it means I won’t be here as often and I want to get the house done by the end of the summer.”

Jaebum almost forgot he offered to help previously, surprised Jinyoung even remembered. “Of course,” he accepts eagerly, but keeps himself from overdoing it. “By the end of the summer, huh? That’s a huge goal considering how fuck-” he considers his word choice, not wanting to offend its owner. “-how it’s aged.”

Jinyoung shrugs. “I have faith we can do it. I’ve gotten some help from another friend and we’ve already replaced most of the floorboards.”

Jinyoung and his friend must work fast, if it’s only been one week and they’ve made that much progress. “When should I start?”

“Sometime next week,” Jinyoung says coolly. “Instead of nights I’ll be working from eight to five during the weekday and will need someone to do some hours in the day until I get back.”

It sounds like Jinyoung is trying to overwork himself, but Jaebum keeps the comment to himself. He nods, tugging out his phone. “Okay, just let me know. You can call the shop or my cell if you need it.”

“The shop will be fine for now.”

Unblinking, Jaebum tries not to feel the harsh sting of rejection slap him across the face as he slips the device back into his front pocket.

He doesn’t make too big a deal out of it however, knowing Jinyoung is likely still at a point where he doesn’t trust others well. Since Jaebum is going to be working for him, he hopes he can build that in him eventually.

When it seems their moment together is drawing to a close Jinyoung takes the initiative to wave first, saluting Jaebum goodbye as he steps through the door. As soon as he’s out of the shop Jaebum decides to not mope about any further, putting more effort in to maintaining his business. He traces through the aisles, headphones in ear, organizing the items with such determination that he completely misses what’s going on not twenty feet in front of him.

Gravel crunches loudly beneath Jinyoung’s shoes as he makes his way to his car, plastic bag settled in his hand. He passes by  another car that had pulled in moments ago, nearly tripping over his footing when he feels someone watching him. He glances quickly at the car as inconspicuous as possible, but doesn’t miss the moment through the tinted window, as if they were following his every footstep.

He digs his free hand into his pocket hastily, feeling the sleek metal of his keys before pulling them out. Jinyoung reaches his car in a few quick strides, key outstretched to the door when-

“Yah, Park Jinyoung!”

-an older, but familiar voice screams out to him in irritation. It startles Jinyoung to the point of dropping his keys into the dirt, and before he can get to them a foot is appearing out of nowhere and kicking them from beneath him.

The next thing that happens is a pair of hands digging their nails into his shoulders and lifting him with a vice-like strength. His back slams against the driver’s side of his truck, his head barely missing the glass window. Avoiding scrunching his eyes closed in pain, Jinyoung finally looks up at his assailant and swallows thickly.

With his thin eyes that stretch across his face and the thicker crest of the nose that is a genetic trait in his family, Park Sungjin stares at Jinyoung with a fiery gaze so hot it melts him to the spot.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Sungjin sneers only a few centimeters away from Jinyoung’s mouth, soaking him in the older boy’s saliva.

Park Sungjin, the golden boy of Cheolwon as he was once called, used to be a gentle older boy, just a few years older than Jinyoung. While they attended the town’s high school together Sungjin was captain of the football team and never paid Jinyoung a second glance. Their paths crossed occasionally, but they were nothing to each other.

Nothing, until the accident.

It wasn’t the first time Jinyoung had been threatened by Sungjin either, the last time having been years ago, his last day before packing his bags with his father.

Now that it’s ten years later and Sungjin has only toughened up around the edges, Jinyoung knows what’s coming to him will be even worse than before. Grudges don’t die easily, especially this one.

Jinyoung doesn’t respond; he knows why this is happening to him.

His silence does nothing to calm the bloodshot eyes of the man pinning him to the car, fingers trembling in blinding anger.

“I leave for a week, and you suddenly decide to come back?” He spits, pushing Jinyoung further into the metal. The handle digs into the flesh of his back, but Sungjin doesn’t care. He shouldn’t.

Jinyoung continues to keep his mouth closed, knowing there’s no way he’ll be able to appease Sungjin’s hate for him. He stares straight into his eyes, not wanting to let his guard down. Out of his peripherals a few more boys close in on them, but Jinyoung ignores Sungjin’s little gang of scraggly guys - Dowoon, Brian, Jae, and Wonpil - that he’s known since middle school.

Instead he focuses on analyzing Sungjin’s hold on him, looking for any way to break free. It’s one against five, so the odds are further against him.

Jinyoung doesn’t get anymore time to think of a plan before his head is slammed against his window hard enough to make him sees stars. His visions clouds in spots of black and grey before clearing - Sungjin frowning even more menacingly.

“Answer me you piece of shit!” He yells, his goons glancing around to make sure no one else is watching. When Jinyoung only yelps in pain, Sungjin’s lip curls into a snarl. “What, did you come back here to kill some other kid as a part of your sick, twisted fetish?!”

Back in the shop Jaebum bends down to grab a pair of pliers that had fallen of its hook. By chance one of his earbuds snags on the end of his shirt, causing it to slip out. As he reaches to plug his _Florence and the Machines_ back in he catches a voice from outside reaching octaves too loud to be just play talk.

He stumbles forward at the commotion to seek out the noise, veins running ice cold when he finds a group of people crowding Jinyoung outside the shop. Jaebum can’t see their faces but from the number of them plus their variations in size, he can only guess it’s Sungjin and his crew.

Sungjin has been out of town for the past week and a half, so it’s a wonder how he ever figured out Jinyoung was here, and specifically how he was here, at the hardware shop, _now_. He’s got his group of minions that hang onto his every word, so it’s not too hard to figure it out how. What Jaebum does have to figure out as he’s rushing to exit his shop is why Sungjin out of all people has gotten physical with Jinyoung.

It was only a matter of time before it happened in all honesty, but there must be something else to the story Jaebum is missing. But in any way, Jaebum can’t think about it at the moment, stress filling his core as Jinyoung scrunches his face in pain. There comes that feeling welling up inside of him again, that feeling of needing to protect, and Jaebum can’t seem to stop his feet from crossing the threshold.

He opens his mouth to scream for Sungjin to let him go, and like Sungjin reads Jaebum’s mind telepathically, drops Jinyoung unceremoniously to the ground with no warning. Jinyoung barely has time to catch himself, hands colliding with the ground to keep himself from face-planting into the gravel.

Sungjin doesn’t look like he’s finished with Jinyoung, looming above him and ready to strike again. Jaebum swirls through the throng of people, ears burning red with fury. Without missing a beat the others eye him with uncertainty as he shouts, “Yah, Park Sungjin!”, and yanks the older man away from Jinyoung by his elbow.

Sungjin obviously wasn’t expecting that, violently shaking Jaebum off to face him straight on. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Im?!”

Jaebum glances down at Jinyoung who doesn’t dare move. His anger boils. “What the fuck is wrong with _you_ Sungjin hyung? Get away from him before-”

“Before what?” The older chuckles venomously, hitting Jaebum in the gut. “Before you call your daddy to come bail him out like he always used to?” Jaebum clenches his jaw tight, saying nothing. “Stay out of this, Im. You don’t even know who this guy is.”

“How can I stay out of this when it’s right in front of my store?” Jaebum tries, hoping it will get Sungjin and his crew to back off. He vaguely recognizes the other guys around him, mostly older but a few his age who have lived in the town long but come and go as they please.

“Oh?” Sungjin teases. “Then we’ll just have to take it someplace else.”

Jaebum latches on to Sungjin’s jacket as he turns to Jinyoung. “Like hell you will. I said leave.”

“You standing up for murderers now, Im?” The older rips himself away in disgust. “I knew you were kind of iffy, but I never thought you were a freak like that.”

“What the hell does he even matter to you?”

Scoffing, Sungjin grins wickedly, and maybe for once, Jaebum is legitimately afraid. “Are you ignorant Im, or just plain stupid?”

Jaebum's through playing games. “Screw calling my dad, Sungjin, I’ll move you myself if I have to.”

The older boys face is flashing red in his face, words gritting through his teeth with anger. “I’d like to see you try.”

“Hey! Guys, come on. It’s not worth it,” comes from Jae, pushing his glasses back to the position on his nose bridge. He gestures over to Jinyoung with his head and settles a hand on Sungjin’s shoulder, trying to deflect the situation. “That piece of trash isn’t worth it.”

It's an instantaneous effect, Sungjin seeming to soften at the comforting touch. His face is still turned in disgust, but he shakes himself off, sending a last vile look at Jaebum before colliding their shoulders roughly as he walks away.

“You might want to do some more research before you begin defending a killer in this town,” he sneers, the crew following behind like a herd of cattle. “And who’s brother he left to die.”

The words send a roundhouse kick to his gut, Jaebum left rooted to the spot. He watches helplessly as the group climbs into Sungjin’s truck and drives off in a heap of dust that accumulates in the air, wondering if the devastation in the elder’s voice was just something of his imagination or if there was a crucial piece of information Jaebum was still missing.

On the ground by his feet Jinyoung struggles to pull himself to his knees, hissing through his teeth when his hands come back covered in dirt and blood.

Jaebum is at his side immediately to lend a hand. “Shit Jinyoung, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he brushes Jaebum’s hand off defensively, tone grown hostile.

Despite the semi-aggression catching him off guard, Jaebum still wants to help. “Here, why don’t you come inside and we can clean you up and-”

“Jaebum-ah I said I’m fine!” Jinyoung’s eyes are heavy and his words are laced with frustration as Jaebum backs away with the feeling of rejection looming over his head. When he looks back Jinyoung’s cheeks are tinted pink from embarrassment; he wipes his hands on his pants, resentment already boiling over as he picks up his keys and slides in his car with irritation. “I told you already that I don’t need your help!”

The door slams shut in his face, leaving Jaebum to accept the harsh reality that not everyone wants to be helped. He understands Jinyoung’s insecurity, wanting to do everything for himself and not count on someone else to do it for him, but the admission once again is like a sharp knife twisting in his gut.

He knows how hard it can be to trust someone when you’re at your lowest low, so if it’s what Jinyoung wants, Jaebum will back off. He’ll leave Jinyoung be and work on his house like it’s just any old job, like they aren’t old souls connected by the events of the town.

After all the progress he’s made with Jinyoung, Jaebum shudders as he’s thrown back to the drawing board.

 


	5. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY CIANNA !!!!
> 
> Also I apologize that this chapter is mostly filler, I promise things will start picking up nicely in the next 2-3 chapters :)

_**And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. -** _ **Hebrews 10:24-25**

 

As Jaebum drives home that day, he’s tired and strung out, disappointed, and unable to stop thinking about the altercation with Jinyoung.

It shouldn’t bother him, the way Jinyoung had brushed him off and exploded like he did, but it does, and Jaebum doesn’t know what to do about it.

They were on the fast track to understanding each other over the past couple of weeks, from their time spent coversing in the diner to Jinyoung actually saving Jaebum’s neck when Wooyoung nearly had a mental breakdown in the shop. They weren’t friends, not by a long shot. But they were connected through Jaebum’s dad. He doesn’t forget the fact that Jinyoung’s had a very troubled past and that’s what brought them together.

 _That_ should bother him. But it doesn’t.

Park Jinyoung was an anomaly in himself, but the strange feelings he gave Jaebum were even more confusing. One minute Jinyoung was compassionate and soft, lending a comforting hand when Jaebum was stood up _and_ when Wooyoung had made a scene in the shop. But other times he was allusive, closed off, fretting like Jaebum was the villain in their story; and it couldn’t be further from the truth.

What made everything more confusing was the fact that Jaebum couldn’t get Park Jinyoung out of his mind, and for the life of him, he couldn’t explain why. Jinyoung rejecting him shouldn't matter. But it somehow it does.

He tries not to show the irritation on his face when he enters his house and drops his keys in the bowl on the counter, quickly washing up to meet his father in the kitchen for dinner. Jaebum ignores the look his father shoots him when he only responds to his, “How's your day?” with a tight-lipped hum.

After a moment of carefully regarding his son while Jaebum refuses to glance up from his meal, Jaebum’s father sets his fork down and clears his throat.

“Is everything okay, Jaebum?” He slides his glasses up the ridge of his nose with the touch of his index finger.

Knowing his father has caught on to the tense air that surrounds him, Jaebum sets his own fork down and pauses, wondering if his father can sense what Jaebum knows.

“I’m fine,” he remarks, finally eyeing his dad’s worried eyes. “It’s just… Something weird happened at the store today.”

“Oh? Like what?”

Thinking back to the small altercation, Jaebum’s mind fixates not on the violence, and not even on Sungjin threatening himself, but the words he used laced with an undeniable anger.

“That Park Jinyoung guy came in the store today.” Jaebum _conveniently_ leaves out the other moment involving the fight with Wooyoung and Jinyoung saving his neck, feeling a sense of betrayal creep inside knowing that this part of his life has to be hidden away. “Then Sungjin and his friends showed up…”

Before the full sentence is even out of his mouth his father’s eyes are widening in shock, leading Jaebum to understand there’s something he’s not been told.

He continues, “The two got into a little altercation in front of the shop and when I went out to stop it Sungjin, he said-”

“What did he say?”

Spinning time backwards to feel the icy cold numbness that entered his body as Sungjin said the words out loud, Jaebum remembers them perfectly.

“He said ‘You might want to do some more research before you begin defending a killer in this town, and who’s brother he left to die.’”

There’s a tiny little glint that Jaebum registers in his father’s eyes a he sits back carefully, taking his glasses off to wipe the back of his sleeve against his collected face.

Jaebum presses on. “What did he mean by that?”

“There’s quite a lot to unpack here,” the older admits, looking to his son through his spectacles once more. “The kid who died, Hyunjin, is... _was_ Sungin’s younger brother.”

Everything in the air seems to still. There’s a clock in the corner that drags on and on with it’s little ticks that gravitate the hand closer and closer to the minute mark, and it’s all Jaebum can focus on right now.

“But I thought-” he cuts himself off, swallowing thickly to rid the knot in his throat. He didn’t even know, let alone think Sungjin had any siblings. He never thinks much of Sungjin to be honest, but he never would have thought this. “I thought Sungjin was an only child?”

“On his father’s side, yes,” his father admits, it all becoming clearer. “But on his mother’s side, he was the eldest of two boys. Sungjin stayed with his dad and his mother left town after the accident.”

_Oh._

So that’s why Sungjin’s rage and unadulterated hate for Jinyoung felt greater than that of a normal resident’s. That’s because he’d been through more than the normal residents. He’d lost his own little brother in the accident, the same accident that majority believe Jinyoung to have committed. The anger is understandable, and if Jinyoung really did so it, then Sungjin had every right to act the way he did.

But the same fact remains. No one really knows the truth. Only Jinyoung and Hyunjin, and only one of them was alive. Once again, Jaebum doesn’t know what to do with the information he’s received.

“There’s no way you could have known, son,” his dad comforts, reaching across the dinner table to brush his hand over Jaebum’s own. “No one ever talks about it, and the other Park family pretends it never happened. I guess it’s their way of coping.”

His father is right, there was no way he could have known. But it still doesn’t sit right, nothing in fact sits right about the entire event and the people that surround it. But that, Jaebum keeps to himself.

“What happened after the fight?”

His father’s voice snaps Jaebum out of his free-flowing thoughts. Startled, Jaebum picks his fork back up to drag the metal along his plate absentmindedly, reminded of the way Jinyoung spat in his face before he left. “They just went their separate ways, I didn’t really pay attention much.”

“Well, let’s just hope they stay out of each other’s way, I’d hate for either of those boys to end up hurt.”

Mouth forming a tight line, Jaebum downs his glass of water before standing with his unfinished plate. “Let’s hope.”

Taking his time cleaning his plate off before heading upstairs to his room, Jaebum let’s the soft trickle of water cascade through his fingers and down the bits of food left on the plate. He watches as it drips off the porcelain and swirls down the drain, lost in the moment, wondering if this is a vision of himself, falling into something he’s not sure he can pull himself out of.

“Oh, before I forget.” Sheriff Im sneaks behind his son, dropping his own plate into the basin. There’s a new adjusted tone to his voice, different than what it sounded like before, meaning the previous conversation had come to an end. “We’re finally getting a new church.”

Surprised onto his heels, Jaebum turns the tap off with the back of his wrist and begins drying his hands with a dishtowel. “Really? We raise enough money or something?”

“No, no, actually, the town council received an anonymous donation yesterday. It’s enough to rebuild the church, make it even better this time.”

An anonymous donor? Someone generous enough in this run down town to give away probably thousands out of the blue? It wasn’t impossible, but Jaebum had a hard time wrapping his mind around who would just have that kind of money lying around. Then again, there’s so much about this town Jaebum still doesn’t know, so there could be some secret heiress or billionaire living comfortably within their midst.

Either way, it comes at a convenient time what with Jinyoung being around, and at least with all the drama surrounding his appearance, someone is still looking out for the town.

“I wonder who it could be.”

His father only shrugs.

 

* * *

 

As the week drags on, the next impending seal of fate comes to Jaebum in the form of a shipment of hardware delivered to the shop’s doorstep early in the morning. He knows what it is before he even signs the paperwork for it, Jinyoung having paid for the order just over a week ago.

In the time of their fiery interactions, Jaebum had forgotten all about the initial order, and even overlooked the true reason why Jinyoung was in town. But of course, he couldn’t forget. Jinyoung was here to repair his childhood home and then get the hell out.

But now, with the supplies in his care, it means Jaebum has to come face to face with Jinyoung once more, and he doesn’t know what to expect. The last time they saw each other Jinyoung rejected Jaebum’s attempts at friendliness, and if Jaebum was being honest, it still stung.

However, Jinyoung’s hardware arriving gives them a chance to talk. Jaebum can apologize for getting in the way of things and not respecting Jinyoung’s wishes to be left alone. Even if it puts an end to their little story, at least they can get some closure, and Jaebum won’t feel like he’s being eaten alive inside.

Jaebum decides, instead of calling Jinyoung to drive all the way over to obtain the supplies himself, he’s going to deliver them personally that way it gives them some place away from the shop to talk.

With that in mind once the supply truck is gone, Jaebum loads up the back of his car and slides into the driver’s seat, mind tumbling through a dozen different scenarios of what to say as the dirt crunches soundly beneath his tires.

It's not that he's nervous. Because he definitely is. He doesn't want another explosion of like what happened before. It's just that maybe, deep down Jaebum truly feels like Jinyoung could use a friend right now, and somewhere even _deeper_ down Jaebum believes it could be him, despite the town backlash. Maybe.

When Jaebum finally arrives at the old Park house down the way, it’s with a heavy feeling in his chest and his tongue curling to the back of his throat. He doesn't know whether the element of surprise would be on his side, so instead of creeping around he shuts his door normally and tugs the keys out of the ignition.

Immediately upon exiting he's met with the brutal sounds of banging coming from somewhere within the house - like something is being hammered over and over again.

The home as well - now that Jaebum gets a good look at it - has changed slightly. While it's no Sistine Chapel, the rotted wood that once framed the edges of the cryptic house are cleared away and replaced with a non permanent bundle of bricks, the debris that lined the patio are nowhere to be seen, and the once unkempt yard with grass and weeds trailing to one's knees are mowed crisply.

There's still much work to be done - and Jaebum hasn't even seen the inside yet - but from what he can tell, Jinyoung has done an admirable amount by himself. Jaebum envies the drive, even if it does have an ulterior motive.

The front porch is sturdy despite the wear and tear of the wood, so Jaebum feels confident standing on it to reach the front door. The actual solid door is left open to peer into the hallway, but the screen door is shut tight, likely to let in a soft breeze while also keeping the bugs away.

Jaebum counts to three to mentally prepare himself before knocking, but the moment he lifts his curled fist there's a long body approaching from the hallway, eyes already caught on his form.

His hand falls to his side as the person walks closer, longer and thinner, with no sway in their step like Jinyoung has. Even thought the screen is tinted he can see clearly, and finally registers the person as he bustles through the door.

“Jaebum-ssi?” Questions BamBam, with a little perk in his voice.

It's hard to say Jaebum's not surprised, feet rooted to the porch. “Oh.” He didn't know BamBam knew Jinyoung personally, and judging by his attire - a loose tank, shorts, and a tool belt hung low on his tiny waist - the Thai boy is helping with the repairs. He's taken back to their conversation days ago at his parents take out restaurant, when BamBam had come to Jinyoung's defense. He wonders vaguely now, if because of their hostilities, Jinyoung's replaced him. “BamBam-ssi, is Jinyoung- um, Mr. Park, home?”

“ _Mr. Park_ ,” BamBam snorts under his breath, crossing his arms as he leans against the door frame. He then takes a moment - weird as it may be - to give Jaebum a quick look up and down. He smirks. “Jinyoung hyung! Your man is here!”

Jaebum blanches, mouth stuttering a confused _huh_ as the phrase runs around in his head before the hammering from inside stops and padded footsteps replace it.

“My what-?” Jinyoung appears perplexed, squinting at BamBam with a quirked lip. He's flushed pink and sporting a nice sheen of sweat, finally looking to where BamBam is nodding. “Oh.”

“Oops, I meant your _handy_ man is here.” BamBam snickers in clarification, earning him a jab to the ribs and a gasp in pain.

“Jaebum-ah... _ssi_.” Jinyoung starts, but corrects himself awkwardly, a little out of breath. “Jaebum-ssi. What are- What are you doing here?”

Jaebum finds himself blinking rapidly, words knotting like a coil in his throat. “Your shipment came in, I'm just delivering it.” He can't meet Jinyoung's eyes, his own landing numbly on the sliver of tan skin peeking out of the collar of his shirt.

They stand awkwardly there for a moment, eyes wandering as Jaebum waits for the next move. BamBam stands between them, bewildered with a devious glint in his eye that Jaebum doesn't want to know about.

“Why don't you go unlock the shed?” Jinyoung turns to BamBam, motioning out back with the tilt of his head.

There's something in BamBam's face as he turns that Jinyoung must not like, resulting in a fiery stern look that has BamBam coughing and rushing back through the house to where Jaebum assumes is the shed they're referring to.

Once the youngest is out of sight, Jaebum finally has the courage to look at Jinyoung fully, and then wishes he hadn’t. Jinyoung’s face is turned down, barely looking at Jaebum as he brushes past and heads for his truck. But it’s there in that split second that Jaebum thinks he sees an air of soulfulness hidden deep behind the lines of Jinyoung’s eyes. But then he blinks, and it’s gone as he helps Jaebum fold down the bed of his truck.

“It’s a good thing you came, I was about to run out of plywood,” Jinyoung says seriously, scanning the other various contents he’d ordered a week ago.

As Jinyoung begins reaching for the closest thing to him - a stack of two by fours stacked haphazardly together - Jaebum feigns saying anything, and just nods. He watches Jinyoung long fingers curls around the wood, and glances at his palms, noting how they’ve seemed to heal from Sungjin pushing his into the dirt. At least he wasn’t hurt too badly then.

But he also wonders how Jinyoung can just turn off the other side of him so suddenly like this, like they’d never had that original heart to heart in the diner, like Jinyoung hadn’t yelled in his face like he was a stubborn child. Were they going to ever bring it up? Or were they just supposed to pretend like it never happened?

“So,” Jaebum starts instead, grabbing onto the handles of two buckets of wet cement. He follows Jinyoung blindly through the backyard until they arrive at the run-down shed. “How do you know BamBam?”

Huffing, Jinyoung stacks his load of two by fours neatly in the back and brushes his working gloves on the back of his pants. “I’ve known him since he was just a kid. He’s the only friend I have in this town.”

Jaebum drops the buckets and lets Jinyoung pass by him and back to the truck, trying not to let the words get to him. Of course Jaebum wasn’t Jinyoung’s friend. They weren’t friends, and they’d never be friends. Jinyoung wasn’t looking for anyone else, and wouldn’t be sticking around to start trusting somebody new like Jaebum. He knows this. But-

 _No_. He shakes his head to clear it. He is there for a job, and Jinyoung has only needed him for the job, _that_ is the extent of their relationship to each other.

The trio work in tandem with each other for the next ten to fifteen minutes unloading the rest of Jinyoung’s supplies, Jinyoung barely speaking to Jaebum unless it’s a request for help or to place the hardware in a specific area of the shed. Despite Jinyoung being stiff Jaebum’s mood is brought up by BamBam’s constant struggle to hold his own, but at least he puts forth an admirable effort.

Jaebum makes sure to pat the kid on the back and ruffle his hair in good sportsmanship, and before long the bed of his truck is empty and there’s no real reason left for Jaebum to stick around. Jinyoung notices this as well, shooing BamBam away for the probable goodbye conversation, but not without finger guns pointed obnoxiously at the both of them.

“See you later Jaebum hyung!” BamBam yells as he enters the house once more. Jaebum doesn’t even have the energy to correct him at this point, eyes latching onto Jinyoung as he moves towards him, arms crossed snugly.

“Thank you for bringing my order, Jaebum-ssi.”

Back to the formalities it was then. So they were just going to ignore the burning tension there, despite it cutting into the air like a knife.

“Well it’s my job, so.” He claps his hands together nervously, clearing his throat. “I guess just let me know if you need anything else.”

Jinyoung’s lips form a tight line, but they part on a sigh, and for a moment it seems like he’s about to add something else. In the end he only nods, spinning around to join BamBam in his home. Jaebum mirrors the image, tracing back to his truck. It takes all of three steps for Jaebum to say ‘fuck it’ and turn back around with confidence.

“Hey look, I'm sorry for before,” he begins apologizing, not caring if Jinyoung decides to listen. “I wasn't trying to get in your way or anything. My mother always taught me to share kindness with others, and it's hard to stand back and watch when something like that happens.” Jinyoung’s halted in his tracks by the porch, watching Jaebum intensely. He takes this as his queue to keep going, wetting his lips with his tongue. “So, if you don't want any help I'll respect your wishes. I won't bother you anymore.”

“You weren't…” Jinyoung says, head cast down in what looks like shame. He picks it back up, biting his bottom lip pensively as he drags his feet closer to Jaebum. “You weren't bothering me,” he admits. “I'm sorry I made it seem that way. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, you were just trying to help. It's just-” Jinyoung stops himself, scratching the back of his neck. There’s something he wants to say there, Jaebum can tell. But in the end it falls through as he shakes his head. “It's nothing. I do appreciate it though.”

Noting the feeling seeping back into his toes, Jaebum shuffles on his feet as he plays Jinyoung’s own apology over again in his head. And wow, was Jaebum not expecting that at all. He assumed he’d be the one groveling, leaving here hanging on a broken apology that wasn’t accepted. Instead, Jinyoung surprised him with one of his own, meaning he knew Jaebum had been hurt by his words. The fact that he knew this and went out of his way to apologize too makes him seem even more human in Jaebum’s eyes, not this sociopathic criminal the people around have wanted him to believe.

Jaebum grins crookedly at Jinyoung, and he swears that maybe, _maybe_ , he sees the ghost of a smile twitch at the corners of Jinyoung’s mouth too.

“I know I said I didn't really need your help before, but I could really use it,” Jinyoung admits, shoulders relaxing as they’ve cut through their burning tension easily with a few words. “With the house, I mean.”  

“Oh.”

“Can you start tomorrow? I'll be awake at six am to start, you can come anytime after that.”

Jaebum tilts his head. “Oh, I thought you'd hired BamBam instead.”

“What? BamBam is just an old friend willing to help me out. He doesn't know the difference between a socket wrench and a screwdriver. You're still the one I want.” Jaebum’s breath hitches involuntarily at the sound of that sentence out of context, and Jinyoung must register it too, stuttering slightly. “Uh, the one I need. I mean, you're the best. It's your job, so.”

Biting back a smile, Jaebum nods. “That it is.”

“So tomorrow?” Jinyoung asks as his feet pull him backwards to his home.

“Of course.”

One last, “Thanks,” leaves Jinyoung’s mouth as he stumbles up the porch steps less than gracefully, earning him a chuckle from Jaebum that leaves his ears bright pink. Jaebum likes the sight, and stores that information away for later, feeling brighter than ever. Even though there wasn’t much to their apologies, it leaves Jaebum feeling satisfied and happy even, a skip in his step as he skirts back to his car and hauls ass back to the shop.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Jaebum wakes up blearily at eight a.m. to get ready for his impending long day of work. He doesn’t know how long Jinyoung wants him to help out throughout the day, but seeing as how it’s the weekend and they’re both off from their regular day jobs, Jaebum prepares himself for the most strenuous day ever.

He’s in his car after cleaning himself up for the day, setting into a slow drive as he approaches the Park house. Jaebum is more confident now that the day will go smoothly since they’ve both given each other sincere apologies for the way they’ve acted around each other, but doesn’t know if he and Jinyoung will find that small level of trust they’d formulated with each other - no matter how much he secretly hopes they could.

In any case, Jaebum is there to do a job, nothing else. It’s all Jinyoung expects of him as well, making it clear he isn’t here to make friends. But if Jaebum slips in a question now and then to try to get to know Jinyoung better or to get him to come out of his shell, then there’s really no harm being done.

It’s around nine thirty in the morning when Jaebum arrives at Jinyoung’s house. The sun is out but hasn’t reached its peak yet, the fluttering rays shining down like a beacon. He unloads his tool box and buckles his belt around his waist with a snap, setting out for the front door in his jean shorts and worn out white tank.

A drawn out shrill erupts from the backyard then, pulling Jaebum’s attention from the front porch. He disregards the front door and begins trekking through the back, not bothering to question if he shouldn’t. Murmuring voices repel back from the yard, Jaebum instantly recognizing the sounds of Jinyoung and BamBam conversing with each other.

His footsteps are drowned out by the sound of the drill Jinyoung’s got locked in his hand, his second palm extended out for BamBam, who places a few more screws down on top. He looks to be drilling down the boards on his back porch, brows scrunched together in concentration.

While Jinyoung looks as handsome as ever while he works alongside his friend, BamBam on the other hand looks as strikingly ridiculous as he did yesterday, only this time he’s got on a bright yellow construction hat perched atop his head.

Unable to contain his laughter at the picture, Jaebum startles the pair out of their headspace, Jinyoung nearly dropping the drill and BamBam tumbling back into the doorframe.

“Oh, hello.” Jinyoung manages after securing the drill and setting it down gently. He takes in Jaebum’s appearance, pausing for a moment like he’s lost in a trance.

Jaebum’s face flushes as he realizes he’s dressed less conservatively than he usually is, the muscles of his biceps out for all to see. He’s got some definition there, and Jinyoung must notice it too, eyes scanning over his shoulders and down his arms. He’s probably just observing naturally, Jaebum thinks, noticing how BamBam seems to do the same thing. But for some reason, he wants Jinyoung to keep ogling him, liking the image of the other stuttering at the sight of him.

Then Jinyoung’s eyes are darting from his tool belt to his tool box, breaking the mood. “You look...prepared.”

As compliments go, Jaebum’s had worse, but he feels like there was something else Jinyoung wanted to say instead. He shrugs. The air feels spiked with energy, and Jaebum scratches the back of his neck in the silence.

“Hyung and I were placing bets on when you’d actually show up,” BamBam breaks through the awkwardness, placing a hand on his hip. “My guess was after twelve, but Jinyoung hyung said you’d probably come early because that’s just who you are.”

Jaebum’s eyes spark up, darting to where Jinyoung coughs faintly into his fist and looks away. “Right. So,” he begins, powering the drill off. “Let me show you what I would like you to do today.”

Brushing past BamBam and into the house, Jaebum blindly follows as Jinyoung leads him around the inside. What he sees is, well, not what he was expecting.

The living room - which leads in from the outside - is already floored perfectly and sand down. The walls are covered in thin sheets of new wood that give off an earthy pine scent and framed by thinner pieces of lumber, the kitchen is filled with shiny marble countertops, and around the corner where the staircase sits that leads to the second floor, the railing is decorative and polished, matching the steps.

Either Jinyoung has a lot of time on his hands, or he’s just that motivated to get out of town. Jaebum guesses both.

“I’ve gotten most of the inside all cleaned up,” Jinyoung explains. “The upstairs bedrooms are solid except for the paint and polish. I’ve got a plumber coming out next week to fix the piping in the house, as well as an electrician too to debug the circuits. Downstairs is where I need you.” Jinyoung stops by the walls surrounding the living room, motioning around the edges. “I need the drywall nailed to the frames and then evened out with spackle. The boards are in the shed. It shouldn’t be too much for today.”

Nodding, Jaebum smiles and lifts his hand to his forehead and jokingly salutes like he’s a private and Jinyoung’s his drill sergeant. “You can count on me, Boss.”

Jaebum feels a sense of pride when Jinyoung rolls his eyes and throws him a curious look. “Don’t call me that.”

“You got it, _Chief_.” Jaebum teases with, a shit-eating grin prying his cheeks open wide.

Jinyoung once again rolls his eyes, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth like he’s trying hard not to smile. His mouth calms down into a cool line, and despite the attempt to sound stern, Jaebum can see a hint of playfulness in his tone. “Get to work.”

“Hey hyung!” BamBam interrupts through the back door, the discarded drill in hand and helmet falling into his eyes. “How do I turn this thing on?”

“You don’t. I do.” Jinyoung deadpans, face becoming serious once he catches sight of BamBam with the heavy duty tool.

Grunting in disappointment, BamBam drops the offending piece of equipment like it’s burned his hand, crossing his arms as he looks for something else to do. “I never get to do anything,” he mutters under his breath.

Jinyoung overlooks it, only looking fond of the younger man. It makes Jaebum wonder exactly how the two came to be so close, and how they’ve managed to stay in contact all these years while Jinyoung was away.

“The hat is for his own good,” Jinyoung admits once BamBam is out of earshot. “He almost gave himself a concussion trying to pry a nail out of the floorboards earlier.”

Even though Jaebum hasn’t hung around BamBam that much during his summers in the town, he knows that despite being a clumsy wreck at times, it’s his heart that’s in it. Perhaps they could become friends after this, too. “He’s a good kid.”

Jinyoung gives Jaebum a hint of a smile. “He is.”

When there’s nothing left to be said, Jinyoung nervously pushes his hair back off his forehead before fiddling with the sleeves of his light blue button up top. Jaebum’s eyes track the motion, wondering how on earth Jinyoung could work under the pressures of the sun in long sleeves. He doesn’t dwell on it long, eyes snapping up when Jinyoung’s voice breaks through his thoughts.

“Well then, I’ll just leave you to it. Let me know when you’re done or if you need anything else.”

He turns his back then, and Jaebum is content to leave it at that, eyeing the way Jinyoung’s shirt clings to his waist as he walks away. Then something pops into his mind, something his father mentioned to him briefly yesterday. He wonders if Jinyoung has any idea.

“Did you hear they’re rebuilding the church?”

At the end of the room, Jinyoung freezes, hand stuck where it’s reaching for the door handle. He doesn’t turn around. “Really?”

He doesn’t sound worried, or nervous, or upset. He doesn’t even sound surprised, which _does_ surprise Jaebum.

“Yeah,” Jaebum continues, chest tightening as he broaches this daring topic with Jinyoung again. It’s thrilling, but nerve-wracking at the same time - just to get a reaction out of the man before him. “Someone anonymously donated the money for it a couple of days ago.”

With the smallest turn of his head, Jinyoung’s voice has darkened. “That’s great.”

The icy entanglement of his voice latches onto Jaebum’s throat and forbids him from speaking another word, rooting his feet to the wooden floor. He imagines the same image in a film noir, Jinyoung with his back turned, eyes cast low in Jaebum’s direction while Jaebum himself is frozen to the spot waiting for the next thing to happen.

Only, nothing else happens. No other words are spoken between the two, and Jaebum can only watch as Jinyoung’s tense shoulders drop dramatically as he heads out the door.

The image sticks with him the rest of the day, and his mind is plagued with the fact that Jinyoung wasn’t surprised to learn about the gracious donation given to rebuild a place that holds such meaning to him.  


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this chapter is the last fillery chapter before we get into the real stuff! Everything relationship and plot wise will be moving forward in the next chapter... so this is one last fluffy mess (I use that term loosely because of the gravity of the story) before shit starts to go down. So I hope you like this calm before the storm!
> 
> As always, let me know what you think, your theories, etc.
> 
> Happy reading :)

_**"A friend loves at all times." -** _ **Proverbs 17:17**

 

It’s been a couple weeks since Jaebum’s started working this job for Jinyoung, and he can say that it has been an… interesting ride so far.

With the unofficial working contract Jaebum has signed for Jinyoung, he’s scheduled to work Monday through Wednesday from four till eight, and Saturdays from nine till he gets the job done. He doesn’t mind so much during the weekdays that it cuts into his time at his job at the hardware store, mostly because the owners consider him a son and will let him get away with about anything, but also because it means being around Jinyoung, just for a little bit each week.

It’s nothing weird, like Jaebum is dying to hang around Jinyoung all the time, because if he’s honest, there have been times when Jinyoung has been too closed off to handle. He likes coming around the Park house even if it’s just to be in Jinyoung’s presence for a while; he finds it oddly calming, and just a little bit pleasing for his tastes.

Jinyoung brings a lot of different vibes to the town (Jaebum knows why that is, even if he doesn’t like to think about it anymore). The world out there is different than the world Jinyoung creates in his home with BamBam and Jaebum intermingled in.

The town around them is unique - Cheolwon always has been. But with the array of kookie characters and the often disturbing way of thinking from residents, it's nice to have somewhere else to go to get away for a while that doesn't involve being by himself.

Jinyoung keeps things real. He's lived in the real world and has experience with what things are really like outside of Cheolwon. He doesn't sugarcoat, or make fake small talk to be polite, and most importantly doesn't get on Jaebum's nerves.

When he wants to be, Jinyoung is a nice person to just sit around and talk to. His voice is firm yet comforting; Jaebum could listen to it for hours. They don't have drawn out conversations often, as Jinyoung still likes to keep to himself most days, but Jaebum is always there trying to push the boundaries of Jinyoung's shell.

They're closer now than they had been when Jinyoung first came to town and even when Jaebum first started working for him a few weeks back, an inevitable shift in their cohabitation.

But, Jaebum doesn't really know what they are. With BamBam, it's easy. The youngest of the trio is loud and always pushing on both Jaebum and Jinyoung's buttons, met with teasing and playful antics in return. BamBam isn't hesitant to talk to Jaebum any time he's bored, and Jaebum actually _likes_ poking fun with him when they have some down time.

If there are questions Jaebum has about Jinyoung or his past, he brings it up to BamBam first, nonchalantly.

 _“So how exactly do you guys know each other?”_ Was one of the first questions out of his mouth once Jinyoung was out of earshot, off somewhere in the backyard with his drill.

_“Oh, me and hyung? We go way back!” BamBam laughed, watching Jaebum right his large piece of drywall. “Back in elementary they made us have pen pals with the middle schoolers, and I got Jinyoung hyung. It was kinda bothersome at first because we were forced to do it for a grade, so I didn’t really care the first couple of years,” BamBam explained. “Then I got into middle school and hyung was an eighth grader, so we started hanging out during lunch and after school sometimes. We became really close fast, even though we had other friends our age.”_

_Stopping short, BamBam laughed into his fist as Jaebum watched on with an enamored, puzzled look. “What?”_

_“I wish you could have seen what he was like back then,” BamBam snickered behind his hand as he relived the memories. “He was so wild, no one knew what he was gonna do. But it wasn’t bad,” he made sure to reiterate. “It was fun. Back then Jinyoung hyung wasn’t afraid to smile. He joked around all the time and just - I don’t know, it was just different back then. I really miss it sometimes.”_

_Jaebum nodded, unsure of what to say. What was there to say? He wasn’t around then, doesn’t know how any of these people were or how they coexisted in this strange town. It blew his mind to hear of who Jinyoung was before, almost an impossible picture to paint. But he could believe it, and perhaps if he was lucky, there was still a piece of Jinyoung’s old life buried within what’s left of himself, and Jaebum could pull it from the dirt._

_“Before they did this to him…” BamBam mumbled, so low Jaebum nearly missed it._

_He was obviously talking about the accident. Jaebum lowered his voice. “Who? Who did this to him?”_

_BamBam flinched, unknowing that he had spoken the words aloud. “Them. He, she, they, whoever. I don’t know who, but they broke him. They didn’t just take one innocent kid’s life that day.”_

_The words stuck with Jaebum while he lined up the sheet of drywall and hammered it into place on the frame. They played through his mind throughout the day as he worked, as Jinyoung barely spoke a word to the two, as BamBam confessed these secrets and worries and as Jaebum packed up at the end of his shift._

_BamBam’s words - gruesome and gut wrenching - were true. Hyunjin, the young and innocent boy who had died because of the purposeful actions of another, was striped of his life permanently. However, he was not the only one. Jinyoung too, was burdened with being the sole witness to the crime, framed in his own innocence, and condemned to walk his life as a criminal._

_Jaebum often forgot how young Jinyoung was at the time - barely fifteen - stripped bare of his own youth, robbed of his only childhood._

_When BamBam approached Jaebum’s car at the end of the day and asked for a ride, Jaebum was in no place to refuse. They drove through town with a soft melody drifting on in the background, BamBam humming along._

_But before long, more questions arose in Jaebum’s mind._

_“Who does he have now? Jinyoung?”_

_BamBam shrugged his shoulders, watching the dirt pass them by. “It was only his dad for so long. His mom died when he was a kid. Her death really struck a chord within the town, everyone loved her. They didn’t have any other kids, so Father Park was forced to raise Jinyoung and run the church by himself.”_

_“Must have been hard,” Jaebum noted, glancing sideways in time to see BamBam’s jaw clench._

_“I don’t think Jinyoung hyung liked his father after that,” BamBam went on to explain, looking uneasy. “I think something was going on back then, besides all the arson stuff. But I’ve never asked, it wasn’t my place. Plus I was just a kid too, I didn’t really know what was happening most of the time.”_

_“Well, you seem like you’re doing alright now,” Jaebum noted._

_BamBam’s face didn’t change from its grimace. “There’s something else he’s not telling me. I asked him before why now of all times did he decide to come back here, but he’s never given me a straight answer. Something’s happened, but I don’t know what.”_

_Squinting his eyes in thought, Jaebum didn’t know either. But if BamBam could sense something was off, then there was no reason for Jaebum not to believe him. He did know Jinyoung best out of everyone else._

_As Jaebum pulled into BamBam’s driveway late that night, the younger’s first foot hadn’t even hit the pavement before he was turning to Jaebum with a serious tension to his shoulders._

_“Don’t tell anyone I told you this stuff, okay hyung? Especially not Jinyoung hyung.”_

_Sticking his slim pinky across the way of the truck, Jaebum couldn’t help but laugh at BamBam’s third grade mentality for keeping secrets. Their fingers linked, and as Jaebum chuckled, BamBam finally looked relieved. “I promise.”_

_“Thank you. Goodnight, Jaebum hyung.”_

_“See you tomorrow, Bam-ah.”_

However unlikely it first seemed, Jaebum considers BamBam a friend now, miles closer than they were before. Before, if BamBam had disrespected the formalities of their relationship he'd blow a fuse like he would with any other snotty kid he passed. Now he just shrugs with a smile, letting their little maknae enjoy his fun. He's a lot like Yugyeom in that sense, and Jaebum finds himself missing his other friend more and more as he spends less time away from his friend group and more time with BamBam and Jinyoung.

Jinyoung.

Jaebum still doesn't know what to classify them as. They've developed a steady working relationship for sure, Jaebum never failing to make Jinyoung roll his eyes when he refers to him as “chief” (his own fun little teasing). And although Jaebum's gotten to know the other a little bit more, he's still hesitant to call them friends.

He doesn't really know if Jinyoung even likes him as a person, or if he's just tolerating him for the sake of their working partnership. Jaebum and Jinyoung have connected from the beginning due to their shared experiences with his father and Jaebum's own determined free will to do the right thing, so be hopes it's not the latter.

The idea of Jinyoung even thinking of him at all makes Jaebum's skin prickle with heat. It gets him nervous and also excited knowing Jinyoung could be having similar thoughts about him, but it makes him cautious; he doesn't want to overstep any boundaries.

So he doesn't push, patiently waiting for the moments when Jinyoung will stop and have a word with him, or help him out with something. He knows those moments are significant, because he'll think about them for the rest of the day, wondering if Jinyoung is thinking about them too.

God, he was way in over his head already.

 

* * *

 

The weekends are especially hot. The sun rains down on the three like it has a personal vendetta against them as they work tirelessly from sun up to sun down. Most of the basics of the interior have been completed (minus the finishing wallpapers, paint, windows, mirrors, etc.) and now they’ve moved on to cleaning up the outside. BamBam’s been put in charge of the landscape, in other words  taking care of the front and back yard maintenance. There isn’t much to do it besides mowing and weeding and a handful over other small things, but it keeps him busy and out of their hairs for the time being. And besides, yard work is hard to fuck up.

Jaebum and Jinyoung on the other hand spend most of the day roofing the house. It’s one of those repairs many don’t seem to think about when it comes to fixing up a home, but it is by far one of the most important.

Roofs usually wear down over the course of twenty years - if you’ve got the good stuff, it’ll take thirty before a new one is needed. The Park house has been abandoned for ten years or so, but there’s no telling when the roof was redone before then. Jinyoung thinks it was long before he was even born, and even if it wasn’t, the shingles are worn down so badly that just the slightest gust of wind jostles them about.

So their morning is spent doing back-breaking labor as they work in tandem to remove the weathered shingles and start over. It’s quiet, but amicable as they team up to tackle the exhausting job, ripping the pre-existing shingles from where they’re nailed down loosely to the weather-proof sheaths underneath.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity to hear Jinyoung talk to him, Jaebum gradually moves his bucket closer to Jinyoung’s side of the roof and begins removing the worn shingles in his direction.

“So,” he starts, digging the backside if his hammer into the nails. He only strains a little bit. “What are your plans for when you get out of town?”

It’s light conversation, nothing too prodding. But on the other hand, Jaebum is curious as to where the mysterious Park Jinyoung will go and what he’ll do.

Jinyoung shuffles in surprise to see Jaebum’s position changed. “I don’t really know,” he responds honestly, like he hasn’t given it much thought. With everything that’s going on, it’s likely to say he’s had other things on his mind. “I think I want to head north.” He pauses, lost in thought. “I’m told it’s where my mother’s family is.”

“What about your dad?”

As Jinyoung falls silent, it’s obvious that that was the wrong thing to say. He should have listened more to BamBam’s words before when he mentioned he’d brought the subject of Jinyoung’s father up to him, knowing it was a touchy matter. There was no response then, and there’s no response now, leading Jaebum to wonder what exactly happened between the two in the past. Jinyoung returns to his work so Jaebum pretends he’d never asked in the first place.

“Well, when you get uh, _north_ ,” he reiterates, trying to picture Jinyoung somewhere near Pyeongchang or even closer to the border. He’d fit in with the locals there possibly, as long as Jinyoung held himself well. “What are you going to do?”

“Probably get some deadbeat job that pays too little and try to live decently.” Jinyoung drives the back end of his hammer over a particularly stubborn nail and rips it from the roof. He doesn’t sound confident it his words or look it, because what would be the point in aspiring to such bare minimum goals in life?

“That’s your master plan?” Jaebum asks incredulously. “To work a terrible job that’ll make you want to kill yourself? What about your dreams, huh?”

Jinyoung only stares down sadly as his hands work. “It’s not going to happen anytime soon.”

“Not with that attitude it isn’t,” the older scoffs. Still, the curiosity eats away at him inside, and he’s got to know what it is. Maybe it was so outlandish that it couldn’t possibly happen, like if Jinyoung wanted to become the pope, or grow gills and live out the rest of his life in the ocean. It couldn’t be too hard, Jinyoung was strong anyway. Probably the strongest person Jaebum’s come to know. “What is it, anyway?”

Jinyoung doesn’t miss a beat when he shakes his head nervously. “You’ll laugh.”

Jaebum nearly throws his hands up in fake disbelief that Jinyoung would dare think such a thing, but resorts instead to holding his pinky finger out. “I pinky promise I won’t!”

“Fine.” Jinyoung bats his hand away without actually making the promise and breathes in deeply, like it’s a life-changing subject. “I’ve always wanted to be a literature teacher.”

Boy was that not what Jaebum was predicting to come out of the younger’s mouth. He’d imagined something more solitary, the kind of job that Jinyoung could do in the solace of his own home, as he was very evidently not a people person. A writer of literature, maybe. But a teacher? There’s not a lot he knows about Jinyoung’s desires, so who knows, he might have a gift for it.

Perhaps it wasn’t so crazy an image after all - Jinyoung dressed in some slacks, a clean button up, maybe even a tie, roaming about the classroom with a book in hand as he read aloud with his tender voice, reciting rhymes and soliloquies that painted pictures in one's mind. One would ask a question, and he’d lean over their shoulder to aide them and-

Okay. Jaebum’s brain definitely needed to stop before he thought about this scenario for too long.

“Wow that’s...Practical.” Jaebum responds with instead, holding a laugh at bay. Jinyoung sees his faltering and rolls his eyes before turning away. “Wait! That’s great, it’s _cute._ ” He giggles, tugging Jinyoung back by his sleeve so they’re facing each other again. “I could see you becoming a teacher. Why is that so impossible?”

“Maybe because I’m me?” Jinyoung replies with the bolded word ‘DUH’ hanging over his head. “They’d take one look at my background and throw my application out the window.”

There was some truth to that, for the most part. While he doesn’t have anything legal in his file - only minor infractions from when he was younger - Jaebum could see how one would be alarmed to receive the application of the infamous Park Jinyoung. But it’s not impossible, surely there are schools around that don’t dig too far deep into things, not come to the wrong conclusions like everybody else.

“They’d be stupid to do that considering you’ve done nothing wrong.” Shrugging, Jaebum seeks to alleviate some of Jinyoung’s worries with some light-hearted banter. “But hey, maybe it’s for the best. You might be too much of a distraction to your students anyway.”

Jinyoung hums. “Yeah, how so?”

Jaebum’s brain doesn’t even have time to filter the words before his mouth is moving on its own accord. “You know, because you’re mysterious and sexy.”

His and Jinyoung’s eyes mirror each other as they widen, Jinyoung’s out of shock and Jaebum’s because he can’t believe he was stupid enough to say that out loud. Jaebum turns back to his work to ignore Jinyoung’s fiery stare at his back, but out of the corner of his eyes he swears he sees the tips of Jinyoung’s ears go pink.

“So you're saying I distract you?”

The shingles in Jaebum's hands unceremoniously slip from his grip and go flying around him. “What? N-no, I didn't mean me,” he stammers, cheeks heating up as Jinyoung watches him curiously. “I meant figuratively from a student standpoint. You know how teenagers are, they try to stick it in anything.” Jinyoung's mouth falls and Jaebum goes pale. “I mean! Not that they want to stick it in you! Well I guess some might but not all, girls can't really do that unless of course they're into peg-” When Jaebum realizes the path he's heading towards he snaps his mouth shut, already looking too much like a babbling fool. God, he really was an idiot, a foolish idiot for pretty boys with a death wish. He needed to crawl under a rock and die fast. “I just mean, you don't… You don't distract me.”

It takes a moment for Jaebum to catch his breath after the long-winded response of virtually _nothing_ intelligent, meanwhile Jinyoung’s gone completely silent. There’s a palpable tension now that he’s outed himself as a weirdo who thinks Jinyoung’s _sexy_ of all adjectives, and he’s currently examining the easiest way to fall off the roof and make it look like an accident.

He dares to look up when the deafening silence gets too thick, startled to find Jinyoung biting his bottom lip with a ghost of a smile. Maybe in the midst of all his nonsense, Jinyoung decided Jaebum was too dumb for his own good.

“Jaebum-ah, I was only teasing you.” Jinyoung admits with interest dancing across his stupidly handsome cheekbones. His ears are still pink but slowly fading, so Jaebum knows that even if he was only joking, Jinyoung had been flustered.

Now Jaebum feels even more like a fool, burning bright red in embarrassment. Not only did Jinyoung’s teasing (because Jinyoung teasing him, that’s new) go over his head, Jaebum has to now live with his freudian slip and the fact that Jinyoung knows he thinks he’s sexy. This was going to be a long next couple of weeks.

Jinyoung shuffles closer to help pick up the discarded shingles, Jaebum almost losing sight of what he’s doing for a brief second before he’s clearing his head and coming back to the real world.

“Now enough _distractions_ , let's get this job done.”

It takes a few hours, even with the both of them working endlessly, to get the house de-shingled and ready for the new waterproof storm layer. By that point the sun’s burning brightly across the sky above them, no trace of a cloud in the ocean of baby blue.

Jaebum’s already soaked through his thin tank top tenfold, and he just prays he put on enough deodorant to last him throughout the day. He does not want to be _that_ musty person, especially around Jinyoung.

He’s so into his work he doesn’t register the body right beside him or the fleeting touch dancing across his shoulder until Jinyoung speaks close to his ear.

“Hey, you should probably get out of the sun for a while, you're getting a bit of a burn.”

It’s then that Jaebum freezes, noting the delicate trace of Jinyoung’s fingers as they lightly brush over the light redness that’s formed where his skin’s been exposed. There’s barely any pressure to the touch yet it feels like Jinyoung’s dragging across his back with a ten ton weight, ghosting over the sensitive skin like he’s afraid Jaebum will break. It’s so small yet the intimacy of it knocks Jaebum’s breath away.

“Hm?” As soon as Jaebum turns to face him the touch is gone, Jinyoung’s hand retracting back like it’s the one that had been burned. Though there wasn’t much to begin with, Jaebum misses the sensation. “Oh I'm good, it's not too bad.”

Jinyoung's face seems to say otherwise. It can’t be as bad as he’s making it seem, as Jaebum can hardly feel anything when he moves. He’s not sore yet, which is a good thing. Even then, sunburns and tanning are natural when he does the things he does. He can’t be like Jinyoung - who only ever wears long shirts all the time - and protect his skin. He’d die of heat exhaustion. He doesn’t know how Jinyoung does it.

Today Jinyoung’s got on a thin grey cotton t-shirt with his signature long-sleeves rolled just below his elbows. It looks great on him for sure, but he’s dressed for the wrong weather.

“I don’t understand how you can wear something like that day in and day out. Aren’t you hot at all?”

“I’m used to it,” Jinyoung says, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Why not just wear short sleeves and be comfortable?”

“Because it is impossible for me to wear revealing shirts and be comfortable,” Jinyoung explains, sounding tired. He’s most likely explained this a hundred times before and now it’s an automated reply. “I’m self-conscious about my arms, so I don’t like to show them.”

Jaebum snorts. “Why, because of their size? You’re not as thin as BamBam at least. We just got to get a little meat on them, and you’ll be on your way to my level.” Like a certified bro douchebag one would meet in the locker room, Jaebum jokingly slaps the skin of his bicep and grunts. His arms aren’t as big as they used to be believe it or not, but they’ve still got a hefty definition to them and even though he’s not protein boy going to the gym twice a day anymore, he’s confident in them.

Rolling his eyes fondly, Jinyoung dumps his last shingle in his bucket and dusts his gloves on the back of his pants. “Okay Mister 'Muscle Man', I'm going to get us some water and bring you some sunblock.”

Jaebum glances over his shoulder a second time and sighs. There was some redness there he had to admit, but it would be fine. It’s not like it was hurting that much.

“Really, I'm fine. It's like a nice sun kiss.”

Carefully navigating himself to the ladder, Jinyoung hikes his way down until just his head is showing. He pauses mid step, glancing back at Jaebum in astonishment. “You're really stubborn, you know that?”

Shaking his head, Jaebum nods with a laugh. He enjoys Jinyoung taking notice of him in such ways, even if it’s just to call him stubborn. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t carry the character trait, something he’s picked up from both his parents anyway, but Jinyoung registering it himself means he’s paying attention to Jaebum whether he knows it or not.

Nothing else is said as Jinyoung’s head disappears beyond the edge of the roof, leaving Jaebum to smile coyly to himself. He doesn't feel too much like a babbling buffoon anymore, most (but not all) of the embarrassment slipping away from his worn out bones.

He finishes the last of the roof while Jinyoung is downstairs, careful with his footing as he navigates himself down the ladder with two buckets full of roofing tile. When he gets to the bottom and the grass crunches loudly under his work boots, Jaebum drops the buckets with little finesse and starts to dust himself off.

Sweat clings to his body like a leech, a clear shine covering his arms and neck. He feels it on his back and stomach, seeping through his already soaked shirt. He’s got a spare shirt in his car that he can wear for the trip back home, and doesn’t think anything of it when he removes the raunchy material that sticks to him.

Jaebum starts to feel the burn as he’s lifting the tank off his head and dropping his arms down to his sides. The sunburn is most definitely there, blazing under the skin of his shoulders and upper arms. He’s turned light red and the areas are scorching to the touch, which leads Jaebum to believe he should have taken Jinyoung’s advice.

He walks in through the back door to get out of the sun immediately, trying his best to ignore the way his skin feels like it’s about to rip off any second. He tugs his shirt back to his face, closing his eyes as he wipes the remaining beads of sweat from his forehead.

“Okay, maybe I was being stubborn.” Jaebum remarks as he enters the house and is hit instantly by the refreshing air conditioning. “I'm starting to really feel it now.”

For a moment he doesn’t get a response back, leading him to believe neither BamBam nor Jinyoung is in the room and he’s merely speaking to himself. Only when he drops his discarded shirt in embarrassment, it’s to his surprise that both Jinyoung and BamBam are standing before him with their backs against the kitchen counters, staring him down like a hawk.

While BamBam admires him with a cocky grin, Jinyoung on the other hand pauses where he’d been taking a sip of his water bottle, lips parted like Jaebum just walked in with an axe sticking out of his head. Jaebum traces his line of sight and finds them caught on his naked chest, suddenly self-conscious.

Then he remembers he’s glowing bright red from the effects of the sun, and Jinyoung is most likely gawking in pity. Still, Jaebum probably freaks out more than he should.

“What, is it really that bad?”

He turns his head in concern to asses the damage in the non-blinding light, and just misses the moment when BamBam leans in to whisper something into Jinyoung’s ear. Without warning Jinyoung explodes with the gulp of water he’d just taken, spewing it over his hands and the rest landing on the floor.

Jaebum missed what happen in his own short panic, stepping closer to Jinyoung in alarm. “Shit, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Beat red and coughing, Jinyoung scrambles for a paper towel to wipe his hands and mouth with. “Went down the wrong pipe.”

BamBam’s mouth grows into a devilish smirk as he lowers his voice. “Which pipe do you want it to go down?”

Shocked at the crude insinuation, Jinyoung gives a hearty smack straight to BamBam’s shoulder and brushes past him to clean himself off in the unfinished sink. The youngest recoils in pain and curses out loud which makes it even harder for Jaebum not to laugh at him. He’s come to immensely enjoy the dynamic between the two, almost like he’s watching a reality show every week when the pair are together.

“You guys are done for the day,” Jinyoung informs them after cooling his neck down with a wet washcloth. “We can finish the roof tomorrow, the sun's worn me out.”

“Thank god! Summer should be illegal.” BamBam bounces in place like a child, like he’d just been let out of kindergarten and told to go clean out his cubby. “Jaebum hyung, can you give me a ride?”

“Yeah let me go wash up first.”

Springing from the floorboards, the Thai boy gathers the few things he brings and vanishes in the hallway as he waits. _Likely to play those meaningless games on his phone_ , Jaebum thinks as he makes his way to the hall bathroom. Luckily the place has running water, but unfortunately it’s missing things like handles, locks, and the most important of all - a mirror.

Not really needing it in this situation, Jaebum runs the tap and lets his cupped hands fill with water before he gives himself a good slap of freshness. He runs his wet fingers through his hair as he stands back up, noticing the body leaning against the door frame out of the corner of his eye.

“You should put some aloe on that burn.” Jinyoung says.

“You sneak up on people a lot, did you know that?” Throwing his own words back at him playfully, Jaebum swells with pride when Jinyoung ducks down to hide the edge of his fake annoyance with him. “I don't think I have any aloe vera.”

Out of nowhere a bottle of aloe appears before him, Jinyoung already one foot in front like he knows what Jaebum’s thinking. It sends a chill down his spine at how much Jinyoung has figured him out.

“I figured you didn't.”

“Wow.” Jaebum grips the bottle and sets it down next to him on the counter before brushing his damp ends back by his fingers. “My knight in shining armor.”

“Well, it's important to take care of your friends.” Jinyoung says almost nervously like he’d been contemplating how to say it for a while, picking the seams of his shirt.

It takes only a second for Jaebum to register the last word, his eyes searching Jinyoung’s in case he misheard. But Jinyoung looks confident as he holds his shoulders up proudly, and a blinding smile splits Jaebum’s face in two.

“So we're officially friends?”

“Don't let it get to your head,” Jinyoung calls as he leaves Jaebum for the kitchen, flush spreading across his neck. Jaebum is quick, hot on his heels in amusement to hear Jinyoung mumble under his breath, “It's big enough as it is.”

“I resent that! Your head is like twice the size of mine!” He giggles accusingly, finger pointing at Jinyoung’s round noggin. Okay, it wasn’t _that_ much bigger, and at least it was proportional to the rest of his body. And in any case, it was a good head; Jaebum didn’t mind looking at it at all.

“Bye Jaebum.” Jinyoung croons with the flick of his wrist, signalling the end of their conversation teasingly. “Come back in a few days after your sunburn is gone. Tomorrow you won't be in any shape to work.”

“But-”

Jinyoung turns to him, eyes piercing his with his command. It would be fruitless to fight back anyway - Jinyoung was the boss and had his own power to bend Jaebum to his will. Jaebum drops the plea with a sigh.

“Aye aye, Captain.” He salutes, tossing his sweat-stained shirt over his shoulder as he traces to the front door. “Don't miss me too much,” he calls over his shoulder, missing the fond shake of Jinyoung’s head.

Jaebum exits the house with a dopey smile still plastered to his face, buzzing off the official confirmation that he and Jinyoung are friends. It had been a couple weeks in the making and took a lot of hours spent around each other to get to this point, one Jaebum figured would never happen. He’s glad he’s been proven wrong once again.

BamBam is already waiting patiently by the side of his truck when Jaebum exits with his keys twirling around his index finger. The younger mumbles a “finally,” as Jaebum unlocks the car and slides in.

While BamBam situates himself in the passenger’s seat, Jaebum digs the extra shirt he had hiding in the back seat out and pulls it on to give himself some modesty. BamBam’s already seen him shirtless so it’s not like he’ll complain, but still, unless BamBam plans on riding along shirtless too, it’s best if he doesn’t want anything to be awkward.

As Jaebum climbs into his truck now fully clothed in his black tee, he turns the keys in the ignition and waits for the sweet purr of his engine before he can back out. A movement from inside the house catches his attention, and when he glances through his windshield he finds Jinyoung waiting by his window, eyes on him.

If he didn’t know Jinyoung by now, Jaebum would find it creepy, or even threatening. But because it’s Jinyoung, he knows he means nothing by it; it’s just one of _his_ various character traits. Jaebum waves crookedly which gets Jinyoung backing away with the huff of his shoulders. When Jaebum looks back to his car, BamBam is staring back at him with his top lip pulled up.

“You guys are gross.”

Suddenly very aware of how this might look, Jaebum coughs into his fist, ears burning the same color as his shoulders. “Is that really what you want to say to someone who’s giving you a ride?”

“Oh right, I mean cute!” BamBam corrects in an all too obviously fake voice to placate Jaebum. “Just my two hyungs flirting right in front of me! Not weird at all!”

“We aren’t flirting.” Jaebum insists much to his own denial and the roll of BamBam’s eyes, pressing on the gas as he backs them out of Jinyoung’s driveway. “I’m just waving goodbye to my _friend._ ”

Friend.

Because they were just friends. There was absolutely nothing there that BamBam or anyone else could see that made them anything other than that.

Right?


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda long and all over the place, but things will be picking up as we get into the main conflict! Let me know what you guys think !!!

_** "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. ”  ** _ ** \- Mark 11:25 **

 

Jaebum gets home that day to find his father still on duty, fatigue settling into his bones as the sunburn blisters painfully across his neck and shoulders. It’s nothing a few days of resting and icing down won’t fix, but Jaebum still winces when he pulls up to his driveway and exits his truck.

His plans for the rest of the day are, first: scrub the grime from his body, and two: relax with the fan pointed at him on high. He hisses as he deposits his keys in their bowl by the door and treks up the stairs to his room, nearly jumping out of his shoes when he opens his door and discovers another person inside.

“Mark!” Jaebum’s got one hand frozen to the door knob and the other clutching his heart like it’s about to burst in shock. “Yah, you almost gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?”

On Jaebum’s freshly made bed the blonde sits with his legs crossed and girls his red key chain around his finger like this is ordinary for them. He chuckles at Jaebum’s skittish tendencies. “I just came to see what’s up.”

“And you couldn’t have called like a normal person?”

“Not like I could.” He huffs with a hint of resentment. “You keep blowing us off, I figured if I wanted to talk to you it was best to find you at the source.”

Mark’s tone hits Jaebum like a ton of bricks, suddenly very guilty standing in his own room. His friends had repeatedly texted and called asking to hangout like they always would, only Jaebum had been so busy with Jinyoung and his house that he rarely found time to see them.

“I’m sorry,” he sighs, still swaying awkwardly in the doorway. “How did you get in here anyway?”

“Your window was cracked.” Mark just shrugs, like breaking and entering is no big deal. To him it really isn’t - he’s done this sort of this to the other boys on multiple occasions as well.

Jaebum manages to stray from the door to his laundry basket where he tosses today’s shirt in like it’s a half-court free throw. The minor pain is worth the perfect basket. “So, what’s up?”

“Nothing really,” Mark starts, watching as Jaebum props himself against the front of his dresser. “You just haven’t been around much these days and the guys and I were wondering if everything was alright. Yugyeom bet you were seeing someone knew while Jackson and Youngjae tried to say that you’d been kidnapped and forced into rice farming.”

Jaebum laughs at the outrageous last scenario, but the one by Yugyeom makes goosebumps rise on his arm. “Sadly,” he laughs with a tight lip. “Neither of those things are true. It’s just this job I got contracted to work for, it’s been keeping me busy.”

“Ah, that explains it then,” Mark giggles. “What kind of job is it? You’re working like all the time, are you building a house?”

Gulping, Jaebum tries not to back himself into a corner. He hasn’t told anybody about his rendez-vous with Jinyoung every couple of days just because they’d worry and frankly it’s plainly none of their business anyway, so he’s not sure how Mark would react. Jaebum clearly remembers those weeks ago when Jinyoung first arrived in the town and was shunned by everyone, including Mark. When Mark had caught sight of Jinyoung, his pupils went black and his knuckles turned white in anger. Just like the rest of the town, Mark wasn’t Jinyoung’s biggest fan.

“Something like that,” Jaebum manages to think up in lieu of an actual answer. “The guy’s just remodeling and needed some extra hands.”

Mark tilts his head in confusion. “Someone in town is remodeling? How have I not heard about this yet?”

Jaebum’s running out of things to chase Mark in circles with. He curses the way gossip spreads through this town like a wildfire. “Slow news week?” He gulps with a nervous smile.

Mark however, sees right through it, squinting his eyes suspiciously. “Uh, huh. So who is this mystery contractor then?”

“Just some guy.” Jaebum fidgets under his friend’s penetrating stare, looking for the nearest exit. He then realizes that this is in fact his house, and there’s nowhere left for him to turn. “He’s nobody, really. Some loner from around here.”

Not buying into Jaebum’s little innocent act, Mark rises from the bed and crosses his arms with wariness. “I know I’ve only known you for three years,” he deadpans. “But I can tell when you’re lying, Jaebum.”

Jaebum hates this. He hates the way Mark can read him like a book and the fear he has just thinking about telling him. He breathes unsteadily, scratching at the back of his neck where the burn seems to radiate stronger with each passing second. “I can’t tell you who it is.”

Mark steps back with a scoff. His eyes are hard on Jaebum as they search his face for any explanation. He blinks, and Jaebum shrinks back at the exact moment Mark’s eyes widen in realization.

“You just did,” he says in disbelief, eyes now on the floor. “The only person in town who’s rebuilding their house is…” Jaebum looks away in shame when Mark frowns at him. “Tell me you’re not working for Park fucking Jinyoung.”

Oh how Jaebum wishes he could. He wants to say it, let the lie leave his lips in order to calm his friend down, but he can’t. It’s the truth, and Jaebum must now accept the consequences. His jaw clenches as he looks away.

“Jaebum, how could you?”

“Look, I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.” He huffs, letting his arms hang limply at the accusation. “He’s fixing his house and needed assistance. I’m helping him out which in turn will make the work go faster. I’m essentially helping him to get out of here sooner.”

Mark burns, cheeks reddening in rage as he scoffs in disbelief. “It’s a big deal because he’s a murderer, Jaebum! Or did you forget that tiny detail?”

“Listen, I know the stories. I wasn’t around back then so I have no bias towards him, which is why I agreed to work for him in the first place!” It’s the only thing Jaebum can come up with. He can’t tell Mark the truth, that Jaebum took the job because he was interested in the legend and felt pity for him, or that Jinyoung has actually grown into something more along the way. “I’m in it for the money only,” he lies, the words tasting bitter on his tongue.

"I just…” Mark trails off before finding his way back to Jaebum’s bed. He tugs his hands through his blonde locks with a heavy sigh of exasperation. “I just can’t believe you’d stoop this low, working for a twisted freak like that for some extra cash.”

The statement immediately rubs Jaebum the wrong way, his jaw clenching on its own. Jaebum had expected feelings of resentment like this from anyone who found out, but turning this around on him and making it seem like Jaebum was completely out of line here is something that boils his blood. He can understand the feelings of dread that come with Jinyoung’s territory - he’s used to hearing them by now and elects to ignore them - but Mark’s standoffish demeanor and shaking hands are something else altogether. This wasn’t just some town grudge Mark held, as evident by the betrayal written all over his face and the way he can’t even look Jaebum in the eye.

“Why does it bother you so much?” Jaebum drops his voice low, daring to question why Mark is acting this way. “I get the normal town resentment towards him, but you’re acting like he personally hurt you or something.”

With a level head, Mark finally regards him fully, and it’s exactly what Jaebum had feared. “That’s because he did personally hurt me.”

“What are you talking about?”

Mark takes a moment to answer, biting the inside of his cheek. “Believe it or not, Park Jinyoung and I used to be best friends.” With a calmer, clearer face now, the elder chuckles disappointingly, waiting for Jaebum’s gut reaction. In return Jaebum straightens up in shock, the breath he’d been holding knocked out of his chest as he examines his friend’s tired eyes. They’re rubbed raw and booming with a small pain of memory that Jaebum can’t help but fall into, accepting the newfound fact like it hasn’t just changed things.

“You…?”

“We used to do everything together. But we had a falling out in grade nine because he lied about too many things and I couldn’t trust him anymore,” Mark continues, the ghost of his past pain looming in the corner as he speaks. “And then he went crazy and the accident happened. If I had my way he would have gone to prison with no chance of parole,” he realizes his harsh tone, breathing steadily to calm himself down. “He’s a sick kid, Jaebum. I would know, I was friends with his long enough to see the shit he’s done.”

The image is a hard one to paint. they were such polar opposites. Mark was loud and needed constant validation from others while Jinyoung was reserved and didn't need anyone. Then again, Jaebum wasn't around then, and from what BamBam's spoken about the younger version of Jinyoung, he was quite the spectacle to behold. Still, it's weird and Jaebum doesn't know how to feel about it.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Suddenly feeling his own sense of betrayal - towards Mark _and_ Jinyoung who knew the pair were close - Jaebum steps back when the twist in his gut gets too much to bear. Mark hadn’t even tried to tell him that they were once friends, not even just friends, but _best_ friends. That first night at the town meeting Mark and the others could have said something, but they left Jaebum in the dark, like everyone else does.

“It was bad enough that he came back,” Mark explains, having the nerve to at least look ashamed for keeping secrets from him. “I really didn’t want to relive the past.”

Jaebum gets it, he does. But this is something he should have known from the beginning. Mark is what he considers a brother, and Jinyoung has become a friend to him. Mark detests Jinyoung with every fiber of his being while Jinyoung just accepts the feelings without complaint. Now Jaebum is stuck in the middle between two individuals he cares for that can’t say the same thing about each other. It’ll be tricky to navigate, as Jaebum doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. As long as he keeps his mouth shut, it’ll be fine, but now he can’t help feeling more betrayed by Jinyoung than Mark.

Jinyoung knew Jaebum was friends with Mark, yet the past remained unsaid. Jinyoung wasn’t much for disclosing details of his grim past, but he surely knew what Mark thought of him and how their pasts had interwoven so seamlessly. It means Jinyoung ignored the fact that Jaebum was close with one person who had been hurt by him most of all and hated him for it, for reasons of his own that Jaebum doesn't understand.

“Mark, I’m very sorry.” He resorts to saying for lack of a better response. He wants to press further, understand what all went down between the pair, but it isn’t his place, and he doesn’t want to upset his friend anymore than he already is. He knows Mark, and when Mark cares for someone, it’s deeply. He can’t imagine him being hurt by the events and he won’t dare try to invalidate them with his own personal feelings about Jinyoung.

“It’s whatever.” Mark sighs, looking defeated. “It’s fine I guess, I don’t care. Just get him done and out of here as quickly as possible. I can’t stand to breathe the same air as him.”

In hopes of comfort, Jaebum perches himself next to the blonde and gives his back a few little taps. It’s slightly awkward, but Mark accepts it, the tension in the room dissipating as he turns the conversation in another direction.

Mark is only there a few more minutes before he lets Jaebum head off into the bathroom to scrub the day away. Before he leaves he lingers at the door frame as Jaebum pulls out a fresh change of clothes.

“Be careful when you’re around him. He can be extremely manipulative,” Mark warns grimly. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

The parting words dance around the air even as Jaebum heads to the shower.

 

* * *

 

After the rather grim but also eye-opening conversation with Mark, Jaebum spends a very dull couple of days _not_ hanging around Jinyoung’s house. He does well to follow Jinyoung’s orders and rest up, but there’s an ache in his chest that longs to get back to work. It also aches because of the information Mark supplied him with, of his and Jinyoung’s once whirlwind friendship that left Mark battered and bruised. Though Mark didn’t go into much detail of what all went down between the two, it was enough for Mark to sever their friendship, and with the added frame of Jinyoung being a cold blooded killer, Mark grew to dislike the man on a different level than others.

For whatever reason, Jinyoung saw fit to keep this information from Jaebum. It’s not like Jaebum feels an overwhelming sense of betrayal for Jinyoung keeping this from him, because despite their slowly developing friendship, Jinyoung doesn’t owe him anything. Jinyoung has his reasons for doing so, but Jaebum would be lying if he said discovering the new information didn’t make him just a little bit wary moving forward.

After all, keeping something even as small as a dead friendship locked behind a door means there’s something Jinyoung doesn’t want people knowing, and the thought of Jinyoung hiding things is enough for Jaebum to keep an eye on him moving forward.

Still, he trusts Jinyoung for the better part of things, so he tells himself not to worry about it yet. When the time comes and his sunburn is (mostly) gone, Jaebum clocks out of work an hour early and packs his things, ready to start a new day at Jinyoung’s house.

From what BamBam’s informed him, they’ve patched up the roof with new weather-proof shingles and furnished up both of the bathrooms. There’s still much to do and they’ve got till the end of the summer to do it, but Jaebum is confident as he snags the spare key Jinyoung leaves on top of the porch light (having confessed to trusting Jaebum enough to allow him to let himself it when the younger is late) and stumbles into the unlit living room.

He flicks the lights on and takes in the new furnishings, then set his tool bag down on the island in the kitchen. On top of the marble is a little yellow note with Jinyoung’s scratchy handwriting.

        _Jaebum,_

_The first thing I need you to do today is replace the glass in the downstairs windows and make sure they can slide up. The glass panes are by    the back door, and BamBam will be by shortly to help out. I will be there soon to tell you what to do when you guys are finished. “:]_

Jaebum grins to himself at the goofy smile that seems too far out of Jinyoung’s emotional range, stuck on the set of weird dots besides its eyes. He wonders vaguely if it’s supposed to be a caricature of him, and sets a reminder to ask Jinyoung what they’re supposed to be when he gets back.

With no time to waste Jaebum starts on the first task he’s been left with, finding the glass cut evenly into four squares, two for each window. The glass panes in place now look out onto the back porch, but are cracked in places and have faced sun damages in others.

He finds the job easier to complete from the outside, crouching on the newly furnished back porch that both Jinyoung and BamBam did a fantastic job completing for non-professionals. He does his best not to cut himself when he disassembles the years old glass from the window closest to the kitchen first, setting it aside to properly dispose of later. He gets the top pane in easily without having to adjust the wood of the frame, and starts on the bottom half just as the sound of the front door knob turning squeaks loudly.

Strutting in like he owns the place, BamBam’s outwardly ostentatious stance has Jaebum shaking his head in second hand embarrassment, but it’s a good thing Jaebum’s gotten used to it by now and actually likes it. BamBam’s hair has changed again from red streaks to a dazzling purple, and it’s a wonder how his hair hasn’t all fallen out by now.

He finds Jaebum immediately by the sound of his hammer, tossing his sunglasses on the counter. “Jaebum hyung! What’s up man! It’s been so quiet around here while you’ve been gone!”

Jaebum hastily sets his hammer down to catch BamBam’s flying fist in a typical ‘bro’ shake. “I don’t doubt it,” he laughs, imagining the empty space where Jaebum would usually be chatting BamBam’s ears off. “How’ve you guys been? I saw you’ve gotten a lot of work done.”

“Yep, we’re getting this bread!” BamBam exclaims as he examines the window, chuckling at Jaebum’s puzzled reaction. Jaebum finds it safer not to ask about teen slang. “So how’s your burn?”

“Oh, I’m totally fine now. Didn’t even peel, just faded into a darker tan.”

“Good, I bet Jinyoung hyung will be happy to hear that.” He confides, the registers how it must sound to his ears. “You being okay, I mean. Not your sexy tan thing… probably.” BamBam clears his throat to hide a small flush crawling up his cheeks. “It’s good you’re back, hyung missed you a lot.”

At first Jaebum thinks BamBam is bluffing, throwing that out there to tease him with. He knows BamBam’s been privy to whatever ~act~ he and Jinyoung are playing with each other and is most likely just kidding around, but the thought of Jinyoung potentially missing him makes the world spin. “Did he… Say anything?” He suddenly feels like a third grader with a crush.

“Well technically no, but I know he did!” BamBam urges, helping Jaebum as he fits the bottom glass pane into the window frame. “The past couple of days he was real quiet. Then when you called and said you were coming back he lit up for a moment, it was cute.” Jinyoung is normally quiet to begin with so BamBam’s not generating enough concrete evidence for Jaebum to believe him. However, he is imagining Jinyoung suddenly brightening at the sound of his voice - maybe he even let himself smile a bit.

“But then you know, you hung up and he went back to brooding guy again.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Jaebum sighs, ignoring the heat crawling across the back of his neck anyway.

The younger just throws him a look that says he’s being clueless. “Okay, live in denial of your feelings for each other.”

The glass slides into place as Jaebum ignores BamBam’s now stupidly annoying voice, tapping the edges a few times with his hammer to avoid the subject. He then remembers BamBam’s particularly dramatic ass faux vomiting at the thought of them the other day in his car. “Weren’t you just in disgust at us flirting with each other?”

“So you admit you were flirting!” The Thai boy jumps in glee, wagging an ‘I told you so!’ finger in Jaebum’s face. Jaebum pointedly ignores it, slapping his hand out of the way before checking the rest of the window for anymore details that need to be addressed.

When he decides there’s nothing left to fix and closes it, Jaebum moves onto the second window as BamBam follows opposite of him. “Besides, Jinyoung doesn’t have feelings for me. He just barely started referring to me as his friend.”

Jaebum doesn’t want to push, or look for things where they aren’t. Jinyoung’s just started opening up to him and they’ve been official friends for only a few days. He’s not going to dive into something out of BamBam’s imagination and end up getting his hopes up or worse, driving Jinyoung away.

“Oh sweet, naive little Jaebum hyung,” BamBam says a little too condescendingly for Jaebum’s taste, hand stretching through the open window to pet Jaebum’s head. It makes him only a  _smidgen_ bit annoyed. “Looks like you need Bam the love doctor to come to your rescue.”

The sound of that reminds Jaebum of some freak porno he watched once when he was younger (he was _really_ young, and hated every bit of it), accidentally picturing BamBam in the same scenario, white coat and all. He blinks back in disgust. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m good,” he says, eyeing his friend as he huffs to himself. “Jinyoung and I are just friends.”

“You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?” BamBam’s head is shaking in disbelief. Jaebum resorts to shrugging his shoulders, not knowing yet what he wants BamBam to believe. Jaebum himself doesn’t even know what he believes. “You get all dopey eyed when you see him hyung! I see the way you watch him when he’s not looking, he does the exact same thing to you!”

Prickling embarrassment coats the sides of his face at being caught. He thought he was being careful at not letting anyone notice his distractions, but it looks like BamBam had been on to him from the start. Jaebum can’t even hide it; he’s a deer caught in the headlights. But also-

“He does?”

“Duh?” BamBam scoffs, like the answer had been staring Jaebum obviously in the face for weeks. “Jaebum hyung, I’ve known Jinyoung hyung for a long time, I know when something’s different about him. He’s literally a new person when you’re around, you can’t tell me you don’t see that.”

So maybe he’s noticed something different. When he first met Jinyoung, he was distant and brooding on a level that made Jaebum interested enough to seek out the cause of it all. Now Jinyoung - though less brooding and distant - has dropped the sheet he’s used to cover his disappearing act. He’s certainly friendlier, quick to join Jaebum in a teasing conversation, almost smiling every time they do. BamBam’s right, Jinyoung is a completely different person than the one Jaebum was first exposed to. But was it enough to say that Jaebum was the cause of it?

“I haven’t… noticed.” He mumbles, lost in his own thoughts as he thinks back to the moments they’ve spent together. After all, it’s normal for people to open up once they’ve become closer and gained each other’s trust. Jinyoung was probably only comfortable with him, that’s all.

“Hyung, it’s so obvious he has a crush on you!” Now BamBam is nearly pleading with him to listen to his preachings. It feels weird that BamBam would care so much. “I haven’t seen him smile in a long time, and nowadays it’s like he’s trying hard not to. And it’s because of you.”

Jaebum would like to think he’s the reason, but he can’t help feel that’s not the case. BamBam is barking up the wrong tree, persistent enough on the opic that it has Jaebum’s eyebrows quirking in suspicion. “Look, even if there were _feelings_ there, you shouldn’t worry about it.”

It’s the first time that Jaebum has entertained the thought of feeling _something_ for Jinyoung out loud, and only because BamBam is up his ass about out it. He won’t deny it, he knows something about Jinyoung is different and it makes him yearn silently for it. Whether it be the mystery, the controversy, the electric air that surrounded them from their first interaction or the way Jinyoung’s been handsomely coming out of his shell, Jaebum wanders in flames whenever Jinyoung is around him. Most of his thoughts he’s kept to himself, happy to leave them as what they are, _thoughts._ But now that BamBam is broaching the topic, he isn’t as nervous to keep them to himself anymore.

“Jinyoung hyung is my best friend, it’s my job to worry about it.” BamBam informs, naturally caring for his best friend in a way that Jaebum can relate to. “I just…” He trails off, eyeing Jaebum with a serious expression. Taking note of this, Jaebum drops his hands from his work and prepares himself for what BamBam is about to say.

“I just want him to be happy again.” The younger admits soulfully, looking past Jaebum in the distance longingly. “For so long he’s gotten the short end of the stick. Then he comes back here and what does he find? A nice guy like you who cares about him and doesn’t believe all that crap people say. I think you guys could be good together. I think you could make Jinyoung hyung happy.”

BamBam’s heartfelt speech has Jaebum frozen to the spot by the rawness of it all. He’s laid it all out there naked and bare for Jaebum to see, displaying how deep the affection for his friend runs. BamBam’s not just an openly foolish clown that he makes himself out to be, he’s got a giant heart for the the people he cares about and loves with everything he has. It melts Jaebum in his shoes.

“I…”

Behind them, a floorboard creaks under the soles of a pair of aged sneakers. Then a voice snaps through the lull of the moment.

“Yah, BamBam.” Jinyoung stands with his shoulders squared defensively, still in his button-down work shirt and pants. He’s visibly upset, burning holes into BamBam’s head with his eyes. “That’s quite enough.”

The pair startle, BamBam jumping to his feet in embarrassment. Jaebum remains frozen to his spot bent over the window, praying that maybe a hole will open up in the middle of the porch and swallow him whole. Neither of them had heard Jinyoung pull up or open the door, and Jaebum was so transfixed on the conversation with BamBam that he had missed the movement in his peripherals, so there’s no telling how long Jinyoung’s been standing there, or how much he’s heard.

“Hyung, I’m sorry. I was just trying to-”

“Meddle in my life like everyone else,” Jinyoung finishes for him with a sigh, earning a pained look from the youngest. “Go home now, Bam-ah. You can come back tomorrow.”

“But-”

“Now.”

On the verge of tears, BamBam relents to the orders of his hyung, not bothering to say goodbye to Jaebum when he snags his glasses from the counter and stomps away. He’s out the door in a few quick seconds, leaving Jaebum alone with a not-so-pleased Park Jinyoung. Bruising from the confrontation, Jaebum looks anywhere but where Jinyoung stands, even as he strides towards him.

“I apologize if he made you uncomfortable,” Jinyoung says, crouching down to Jaebum’s level and looking through the open window at him, forcing him to do the same. “Believe me I would never put him up to this.”

That’s not what Jaebum was worrying about at all, the thought never crossed his mind. “It’s okay, I promise,” he tries for a dry laugh to brighten the mood, but it's jest falls flat. “Don’t be so hard on him. His heart was in the right place.”

For a moment, Jinyoung considers this, eyes softening. “His heart may have been in the right place but his brain wasn’t. I just don’t appreciate the insinuation that I need someone else to be happy. Whether they make me happy or not, I don’t need a romantic relationship from them to feel it.”

Focused on the movement of Jinyoung’s mouth as he articulates his words seriously, Jaebum nearly misses the last thing he says. His brain is slow on the uptake, but the implications bounce around the walls of his brain. Did Jinyoung just… admit Jaebum made him happy? Of course he could just mean it in a friend way, like with BamBam, and he adds it doesn’t have to involve romance to make him happy. Of course Jinyoung means it in a friend way, but despite that something else sparks wistfully in the air.

“He just cares about you, that’s all. He just wants you to be happy.” Jaebum moistens his lips with his tongue, suddenly very nervous as Jinyoung catches sight of it. “We both do,” he admits without thinking, unable to take the words back. Across the window, the faint sound of Jinyoung’s breath hitching fills the air.

“You do?” Jinyoung asks softly, eyes watching him longingly. Then again maybe it’s just Jaebum’s imagination.

“Of course I do, Nyoung.”

It’s the first time Jaebum’s referred to him as anything other that his first name, so lost in the emotions of the moment that it just slips out. It feels sweet rolling off his tongue so easily, and Jinyoung must like the sound of it too, if the blush on his cheeks is anything to go by.

He quickly turns back to being serious. “I’m a grown adult, I can do things for myself. I don’t need him creating a hypothetical relationship for me that I realistically can’t have.”

“Ouch,” Jaebum cringes inwardly, trying not to feel the harsh slap of reality cross his face. Even though Jinyoung is only speaking hypothetically, Jaebum can’t help but feel like he’s letting him down in the easiest way possible. It wouldn’t work, he knows that. Jinyoung will be out of town soon enough, and they’ll likely never cross paths again. The acceptance stings, but he does his best not to show it, chuckling awkwardly. “Why do I feel rejected even though all of this is just hypothetical?”

Jinyoung’s face fills with worry. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you-”

“You didn’t, Jinyoung, don’t worry.” Jaebum assures with a smirk, no longer disappointed by the dismissal of their proposed relationship. Jinyoung’s right in the first place, he can’t have something like that now, not when he’s in the middle of all this. Hypothetically, that is. “I was just tea-

“-teasing me?” Jinyoung allows the corner of his mouth to turn up, shyly casting his gaze away. “You’re good at that.”

“And you’re good at…” Jaebum trails off when Jinyoung’s eyes jump back to his, carrying a new sense of liveliness that dares Jaebum to continue. “Uh, being teased,” he finishes, ignoring the sound of it out of context.

“You think?” Jinyoung asks low, body gravitating closer to where Jaebum is still leaning through the open window.

“I think…”

“Tell me what you think.” Jinyoung stops before him, their faces a few inches apart. The tilt of his head beckons Jaebum to come closer.

Not believing this is really happening at first, Jaebum is stuck looking at the man before him while his brain stutters. Because Jinyoung wasn’t actually doing this, was he? Jaebum was under the impression that Jinyoung thought of him as a friend and wasn’t looking for anything romantic. But there he was anyway, taunting Jaebum with the pull of his lips between his teeth. He even drops his eyes to Jaebum’s lips and back with the part of his own mouth. How did they even get to this moment? Seconds ago Jinyoung was upset by BamBam trying to push them together, yet here he was egging Jaebum on. Contradicting as his actions may be, Jaebum decides he doesn’t care what Jinyoung previously said, as the younger doesn’t seem to pay the words mind either.

With a newfound surge of confidence Jaebum tosses out his worries and plants his hands on the window sill and meets Jinyoung in the middle. “I think BamBam is going to be disappointed our hypothetical relationship didn’t work out.”

“Well, it’s just hypothetical anyway right?” Jinyoung whispers.

“Right.”

Jinyoung’s eyes gaze longingly at Jaebum’s lips as their heads rest barely a centimeter apart, his fingers buzzing against the frame. Next to them, Jaebum’s own fingers feel the itch to reach out and touch, but he’s too focused on Jinyoung’s half-lidded stare to do anything else but move forward. He doesn’t know if this is truly happening after everything Jinyoung had just spilled, but Jaebum doesn’t press his luck. He's driven by lust, forgetting for a moment where and who they are.

With his heartbeat thumping wildly in his ears Jaebum’s the one to move first, drinking in the flutter of Jinyoung’s lashes closing as their noses brush. Before their lips finally meet Jaebum lets his eyes fall shut to indulge in the moment, so close to breathing the same air as Jinyoung and tasting him-

-when the window comes crashing down on them.

Jaebum lets out a squeak as the wooden frame slams directly onto the bridge of his nose, finding the perfect moment to loosen from where he’d propped it up minutes ago. He falls back onto his ass and covers his nose with his hand immediately, tears springing to his eyes from the sharp radiating pain.

“Oh shit, Jaebum-ah!” Jinyoung yells worriedly, rushing to the backdoor and crouching by Jaebum’s side. “Beom-ah, are you okay?”

Jaebum doesn’t know. His nose feels like it’s just been sucker punched by Korea’s boxing champion and dragged around the block. When he removes his hand to asses the damage it’s even worse than he pictured, blood smeared across the palm of his hand. “Wah, you couldn’t have just broken my hypothetical heart, could you? Had to get my nose too.” He manages a laugh despite the blood trickling from his nostrils.

He must look like a complete mess. He hadn’t realized the blow had caused his nose to bleed, and in haste his hand had most likely spread the red liquid all over his face. He goes back to covering it, both to levy the flow so it keeps from making a mess and to hide the sight from Jinyoung. Jinyoung doesn’t care, Jaebum knows, but after what just happened, Jaebum’s left reeling in humiliation.

“Shit, let’s get you inside, you’re bleeding everywhere.” After leading Jaebum inside, Jinyoung props him on a stool by the kitchen island while he busies himself with dampening a washcloth with warm water. “Hold this here.”

Great, this was just another thing he needed to keep his day more interesting. First BamBam proclaiming Jinyoung had a crush on him, Jinyoung denying he had a crush on him, Jinyoung seeming to prove the opposite about his crush on him, and then the window deciding to cockblock their kiss like an asshole.

If the window hadn’t have gotten in the way, would they have actually kissed? Or would Jinyoung have stopped it before they got too far? Would Jinyoung have gone through with it and realized perhaps he was wrong, and romance was something that could bring him happiness?

When the blood stops flowing for the most part, Jaebum attempts to rid himself of the dried substance that tightens his skin. Only, Jinyoung still hasn’t bought any mirrors to be installed yet, so there’s no way for Jaebum to actually see what he’s doing. Therefore, he doesn’t get everything, leaving Jinyoung to sigh and tug the cloth out of his grip. He tilts Jaebum’s head back with one hand, the other wiping the leftover dried blood from his nose until his face is clear once more.

The action forces Jaebum’s eye line to linger on Jinyoung’s chest straining in his black uniform shirt. “Does it look broken?”

Dropping the stained washcloth in the sink, Jinyoung uses his fingers to tilt Jaebum’s face back and forth by his chin, tracing the lightly bleeding scrape on the bridge of his nose where the window initially hit.

“I think you’ll live,” he beams, hand cocked on his hip. “Let me go get you a bandage.” He leaves in the direction of the downstairs bathroom, but along the way lets his fingers run through the side of Jaebum’s hair to tuck it behind his ear. What would be a normal action by anyone else is amplified tenfold because it’s Jinyoung, once hesitant to speak now comfortably brushing his fingers through the strands on Jaebum’s head.

Jinyoung returns before Jaebum can further analyze the breath-stopping touch, peeling the beige bandage from its wrapper and applying it to Jaebum’s wound with idle fingers. He winces in pain at the sudden touch, but the prick only lasts for a second before it dulls out. Jinyoung’s fingers linger by the side of his face, but like he’s realizing what he’s doing, they drop to his sides and he’s stepping away with a tight lip.

“I think your house is trying to kill me,” Jaebum cracks when Jinyoung disposes of the trash, hoping to alleviate some of the tension. He sighs internally as Jinyoung’s shoulders visibly relax.

“And BamBam said I was a drama queen.” Jinyoung rolls his eyes playfully, dragging his attention to a white bag on the counter Jaebum hadn't noticed before. “I’m kinda exhausted from today. I think we can just put off the to-do list till tomorrow.”

“Oh. I guess I’ll just-”

“You’re welcome to stay,” Jinyoung shushes him with his hands, brandishing three to-go boxes from the diner. “I brought us leftovers from work. Well, I brought the _three_ of us leftovers, but since I sorta kicked BamBam out, more for us.”

Jaebum sets a reminder to persuade Jinyoung to give BamBam a call later and apologize. The last thing they need is another person upset with him. “Ah, I see. You’re just trying to win me over after breaking both my heart and my nose.”

“Is is working?” Jinyoung asks, popping a fry into his mouth with a glimmer in his eye.

Jaebum props his elbow on the counter and leans into his open palm, cocking his head. “I think I can be persuaded.”

Jinyoung catches his eye from where he’s standing, biting the inside of his cheek as he breaks open a container and slides it over to Jaebum. Now that the simmering tension has slowly faded from around them, Jaebum finds it safe to dig into the meal.

They eat slowly and gracefully, few words passed in between the slurping and chewing. It’s comfortable, a mellow silence drifting on that has Jaebum wondering if things with Jinyoung had always been like this, or if they’ve migrated into new territory after what’s happened.

Jaebum guesses they’re going to ignore the obvious - that they weren’t _totally_ about to kiss before the window reeked vengeance on him - since Jinyoung doesn’t mention it as they eat. Perhaps it was a heat of the moment thing, Jinyoung enthralled by Jaebum’s presence that he couldn’t resist reaching out. Or maybe BamBam was right about everything, and Jinyoung did have a crush on him. Either way, Jaebum doesn’t broach the topic because he’d rather not have an awkward talk about it if it was all a big mistake. But he also won’t forget it happened either.

A sudden knock on Jinyoung’s front door startles them both. Jaebum fumbles his fork and Jinyoung snaps up, darting from the kitchen to answer it. Jaebum guesses it’s just BamBam returning to give Jinyoung another apology, so he doesn’t bother paying attention when Jinyoung reaches the door. He’s out of earshot anyway, so he decides to wait for Jinyoung to invite BamBam in and they can all resolve their little dispute from earlier.

Only when Jinyoung swings the door open on its hinges, he’s met with an older but familiar gentleman standing nervously on his porch, hat rolling between his fingers.

“Chief Im seonsaeng-nim.” Jinyoung shrinks to the spot, lips parted in a quiet beat of awestruck.

“Jinyoung-ah,” the Chief nods. He’s less than happy to see Jinyoung again after so long, voice laced with an unpleasant tone. “Nice to see you again.”

Jinyoung swallows, hand clenching where it never left the doorknob. “It’s been a long time.” Jinyoung studies his demeanor evenly, noticing the way he wrings his hands in his chief hat and looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than there. “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know, Jinyoung-ah.” He says. “You tell me.”

Jinyoung stares back dumbfounded, taken aback by the use of his words. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

The Chief sighs, setting his hat back on top of his head. His face becomes serious, all pleasantries from before gone. “I think you better let me inside, so you can explain some things to me.”

Jinyoung’s same look of disturbance only grows further, glancing back to the other side of the house. When he looks back at the Chief, he nods calmly, escorting him in and letting the door click into place behind them.

“I must say I’m impressed with what you’ve done with the place,” the Chief says as he follows behind Jinyoung in wonder.

That’s when Jaebum hears the voice that definitely doesn’t belong to BamBam, and he hastily swallows his mouthful as Jinyoung traces through the hallway with his father in tow. Panic sets in Jaebum’s body that roots him to his chair, preventing him from making a mad dash for the exit. Jinyoung’s stance is now guarded as he walks back into the kitchen, and Jaebum’s father lands his sights on him immediately.

“Jaebum-ah?” He blinks back the puzzlement. “What are you doing here?”

He’s caught now. He never told his dad about his meetings with Jinyoung or that he now works for him, spending most of his free time in the same place he’s now standing. He doesn’t want to face the lie he’s strung, hesitating a beat as his father waits for an answer.

It seems he takes too long.

“H-he’s been working for me, Seongsaeng-nim,” Jinyoung supplies in effort to keep things from intensifying.

Jaebum’s father traces his gaze to where their food is spread out, looking between them warily until he finds Jaebum again. “What happened to your nose?”

Jaebum unconsciously touches the bandage he’d forgotten about. “Nothing. Just an accident with the window, I’m fine.”

Still, his father squints at him. “You never told me you were working for…” He trails off, peering back to where Jinyoung’s now frowning at Jaebum with a cloud of disbelief circling him. The Chief doesn’t notice. “It doesn’t matter. That’s not why I came here.”

“Why are you here then?” Jaebum responds, imagining that Jinyoung isn’t burning into his head with the boiling temperature of his gaze. He realizes now that this is the first time his father and Jinyoung have been in the same room together in over ten years. From the tension rising that could cut like a knife, he guesses this isn't exactly the reunion they'd been picturing.

The Chief procures his cell phone from his back pocket, drawing Jinyoung and Jaebum near. “There was an incident at the school this morning.”

“An incident?” Jinyoung gulps. Neither he nor Jaebum has any idea what he’s talking about.

It takes a moment for his father to unlock his phone and dive through it, but once he does, he sets the device down flat on the countertop for all to see. It’s an image, blurred along the edges because it’s undoubtedly taken by his dad who still isn’t too keen on technology. In the background is what Jaebum recognizes as the high school, but it's the back lot where the track and field is. In the middle of the field reads in ominous, big black letters, **_You Will Burn_**. At first glance, Jaebum thinks it’s just black paint dragged across the grass. But upon looking closer, he realizes that the ground in charred. Somebody burned those words into the earth.

“Some of the kids found it this morning before class,” the Chief informs. “We’re keeping it under lock and key, but words spreads fast around here.”

Jaebum sneaks a worried glance across at Jinyoung, discovering his jaw clenched tightly, complementing the look of horror in his solemn eyes. He never takes his eyes away from the image, like if he stares any longer, the picture will vanish from the screen.

“Jinyoung-ah, I need to know the truth. Did you do this?”

Jinyoung’s head snaps to meet the Chief’s gaze, his face flooding with an overwhelming sense of hurt that he’d even be asked that question. “Of course I didn’t,” he declares, voice tight. “I’m not like that anymore. I’m just here to fix my house and get out.”

Jaebum’s dad nods, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “Well if it wasn’t you, then who might it be? Because the council isn’t happy, and if this gets out the townsfolk will only be coming after you. I don’t have the power to defend you anymore around here, Jinyoung-ah.”

“I don’t know,” Jinyoung steps back numbly. “But the message is for me. Or made to look like it came from me.”

Neither of those options sound good. Jaebum knows it’s too early to tell, but couldn’t this just be the work of some prankster school kid who wants to get a rise from everyone? If it truly wasn’t, and this was a message for Jinyoung, well there’s a million different things it could mean. The person is either trying to make it seem like Jinyoung is back with a vengeance, or the message is telling Jinyoung himself that he’s a target.

“You don’t think it’s the same person who you believed framed you, do you?” The Chief asks. Jinyoung merely shrugs, lost in the world of his head as he regresses back. “Look son, I’ll keep an eye out, you be sure to do the same thing. But just to let you know, if you’re lying to me you won’t be getting out of this town so easily next time.”

Blown back by the bold words his father uses, Jaebum shrinks back in dismay. He had no right to speak to Jinyoung that way, because there was no way Jinyoung would ever try to pull a stunt like that. Maybe back in his teens yes, but now as the shunned of the town? Jinyoung wasn’t stupid.

Jinyoung’s not all there when he responds to Jaebum’s dad in agreement, internally curling in on himself. Jaebum can see it and wishes there’s something he can do, but won’t dare make a move while his dad’s still watching them like a hawk.

Eventually his dad turns to leave, tipping his hat like he’s a cowboy of the wild west. “It was nice seeing you again, Jinyoung-ah,” he admits despite the spoken threat that looms overhead. He turns to his son, leaving him with one last icy stare. “Jaebum-ah, I will see you when you get home. We have things we need to talk about.”

Waving him off, Jaebum’s already dreading the conversation, knowing by the look he’s thrown as his father exits that it will begin and end with Park Jinyoung. But as the dutiful son he is Jaebum will listen to his father and hopefully have a chance to explain why he’s been lying. It won’t be the full truth - it could never be the full truth when it comes to how he feels, especially not about Jinyoung.

Speaking of, Jaebum throws a look over his shoulder to find the younger with his back to him, hunched over the sink. Not being able to tell what’s going through Jinyoung’s mind after learning of the nerve-wracking events of this morning, Jaebum rushes hastily to his side, lending a comforting hand to his lower back. Jinyoung lets out a shaky breath, curling into the touch.

“Are you okay?”

A beat passes in silence as Jinyoung seems to contemplate his words. His brows are knitted together pensively, and his bottom lip hangs between his teeth. His posture is closed-off and defensive, and a few beads of sweat cling to his hairline - he’s definitely scared of whatever this is. Whether it’s a prank or someone is really sending him a warning, Jinyoung has to keep an eye out at all times, which means Jaebum must also do the same. Even though the message is ominous, Jaebum’s confident that they’ll work things out. There’s no one in town that would be bold enough to actually try to harm Jinyoung.

Well, no one except Park Sungjin, who’s already proved he’d run Jinyoung out of town by any means possible. But despite Sungjin’s vengeance towards Jinyoung, he doesn’t seem the type to pull something like this. Still, Jaebum isn’t one hundred percent sure, and will have to keep their hyung in the back of his mind at all times. He’ll discuss it with Jinyoung later too, but right now he’s only focused on calming Jinyoung down, rubbing a comforting thumb along his spine in hopes that the touch helps.

It must not, because the next thing that happens is Jinyoung pushing himself away from the touch like it’s scolding, and what he responds with isn’t what Jaebum was expecting at all. “Why didn’t you tell your dad you were working for me?”

“It just never came up.” He shrugs off the lie. It had. Of course it had. He was gone hours at a time outside of his grueling work schedule and he wasn’t hanging with his friends. His father knew he was out with other things, but Jaebum brushed off the topic and mumbled some other excuse any time it was brought up. He just didn’t want to go through the talk he would inevitably get, fearful that even though his father considered himself on Jinyoung’s side, he would try to talk Jaebum out of it.

Maybe even deep down, Jaebum also didn’t want anyone to know because he wanted to keep these moments with Jinyoung all to himself. These days were times he could have that were only his as he navigated getting to know Jinyoung and his feelings that came from it. Even if he told his father, being with Jinyoung wouldn’t be just his anymore.

Jinyoung doesn’t believe him. “Really? He seemed pretty upset that you were keeping it from him. Why, are you embarrassed?”

“No, that’s not it at all.” Jaebum grabs Jinyoung by the arm to halt him when he tries to turn away, but Jinyoung’s power is stronger than he realized.

Jinyoung breaks his grip, eyes the most alive they’ve ever been with a thin veil of betrayal as he squints back at Jaebum. “Then are you ashamed to be associated with me? Is that why you didn’t tell him? You couldn’t let him know you were spending all your time with a murderer?”

This isn’t about work, Jaebum catches on to that now. Though Jinyoung’s words say one thing the subtextual evidence comes to a different conclusion. He’s upset for different reasons, all which include the idea of Jaebum feeling shame by hanging around Jinyoung. That Jinyoung is so torturous that Jaebum wouldn’t dare mention the fact that they were friends, and by association, that he felt guilt for the long-winded crush he harbored in secret.

“Because it’s none of his business,” Jaebum snaps, fury bursting through his cells. How did this conversation turn around on him? Moments ago he was concerned for Jinyoung’s safety, now Jinyoung is berating him for something he doesn’t yet understand himself. “It’s my business. Mine and yours, that simple.”

“Simple enough that you’re hiding things about yourself from your dad and you can’t even admit the reason why.”

Somehow, Jaebum doesn’t think they’re talking about them anymore. He’s reminded of their moment in the diner and how Jaebum said he planned his date there because it was out of the town’s way and no one would find him. Then at the store a few days later, Jinyoung came to discover that it was because of Wooyoung, a secret he’d kept from everyone, even his own father.

Hot rage radiates off his body, clenching his fists so he doesn’t end up putting on through the cabinets he worked hard to assemble. He regrets his next words as soon as he says them. “You’re one to talk.”

Jinyoung scoffs. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

God, he was really going to do this. “You know Mark Tuan, right?” Jaebum’s unable to take the words back, so he just rolls with it, noting the way Jinyoung’s demeanor visibly changes. “My friend? Actually, your friend too. Or was your friend. Your best friend even. Ring any bells?”

He knows he sounds petty, and maybe he is. Jaebum’s not the only one keeping secrets, and it would be hypocritical and downright _laughable_ for Jinyoung to pretend otherwise. Jinyoung crosses his arms and looks anywhere but Jaebum, confirming what he already knew.

"You didn’t find it fit to mention that one of my closest friends was once your best friend?”

“Because I wanted to keep the past in the past.” Jinyoung bites, fingers digging into the sleeves of his shirt as he attempts to pull them down his arms self-consciously. Anger no longer overtakes his voice, replaced by a soft layer of sincerity. “And I didn’t want to make you choose.”

Jaebum would be lying if he said he doesn’t immediately feel remorse for speaking to Jinyoung in such a harsh tone, but he’s still hurt by the awful accusations. “Well guess what, that’s not your choice, it’s mine.” He pleads in hopes Jinyoung would understand. He softens his voice; he doesn’t want to fight anymore. “How could you just be okay with me hanging out with him knowing he hates you-?”

“Because he’s not special!” Jinyoung explodes in a way that Jaebum’s never seen before, eyes wide and hands shaking in pure rage. Seconds ago he had spouted out in fear because he thought Jaebum was ashamed of him. Now he’s downright pissed off and it scares Jaebum to the core. “Everybody in this godforsaken town hates my guts and wants me dead, so I’ve learned not to care! Is that what you wanted to hear?”

At the end of his revealing speech Jinyoung backs away winded, chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath. His ears are burning read and he looks so tired of everything. Of this town, his past, his life, even Jaebum.

Because of course, Jaebum doesn’t matter. He doesn’t pop up on Jinyoung’s radar, too close to the town and not important enough to pay attention to. It’s selfish, he knows, to focus on himself when Jinyoung’s wounds are bleeding out internally, but he can’t help but feel like a broken record playing hopeless melodies over and over again until Jinyoung’s had enough and throws him away. BamBam wasn’t right after all.

Jaebum takes this as his cue to leave, a pained silence wafting on as he gathers his things. Jinyoung just lets him go without another sound.

“I don’t hate you.” Jaebum admits softly before he reaches the hallway, fearing that if he speaks any louder he’ll do something stupid like cry. Stupid Park Jinyoung and his whirlwind personality changes aren't worth it. “But then again, you don’t care about me, do you? You only care about fixing your damn house and getting the hell out.”

Jaebum doesn’t look back, boots thumping across the hardwood as he reaches he door. Jinyoung makes no move to stop him.


	8. VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof this chapter might be what most of you guys have been waiting for ????? We get some more of Jinyoung's past revealed and some questions answered, but many things still remain. I hope it makes up for the whirlwind of the last chapter :)
> 
> Lemme know what y'all think !!!

_**"For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world."** _ **\- 1 John 2:16**

Freak storms are not as popular in Korea as they are in other unfortunate parts of the world, but with hurricane season in full swing, there comes a moment when the winds grow too strong and the rain doesn’t cease. The weather service had predicted a tropical storm sweeping up on their horizons over the weekend, and that’s all anyone prepared for. However when the weekend rolls around, it’s a different story altogether.

The storm had been anticipated yes. Only in the short span of two days, she’d been bumped up to a category two hurricane named Moreena, leaving the southern half of Korea to prepare at almost the last minute.

Now, category twos weren’t going to cause too much damage, so there was really nothing to fear. The only thing that worried the residents of Cheolwon was the nonstop downfall over their small town for the next couple days or so. While work and school continued up until the weekend, by the time the heavy pitter patter of rain managed to blind drivers, Mayor Jeong Wook had issued the residents a severe weather alert warning, urging them to close down their businesses for the day and remain indoors until the worst of the storm passed.

On Friday afternoon, Jaebum gets the alert on his phone and checks in with the hardware shop owners first before shutting down for the day. The rain beats down along the roof like the god of thunder himself has come to wreak havoc, and outside is an even worse array of tireless tapping. It’s not ideal, but getting back home will be manageable, Jaebum just has to keep his eyes peeled for other drivers and keep his speed steady to avoid any accidents on the slick road.

As he accelerates slowly in his car after locking up, he can’t even enjoy the short drive home because the radio keeps cutting out due to weather static, and what does end up coming through is a garbled mess of news updates about said weather.

With nothing else to guide his thoughts, Jaebum’s mind can’t help falling back to Jinyoung and what he’s been up to in the days after their heated fight.

Jaebum had never seen someone looks so berated and frightened at the same time. Jinyoung had earned it of course, with everything he’s been through, but it still doesn’t erase the fact that Jaebum was on the receiving end of it, one thing he felt was partially deserved. Jinyoung was right, he was scared to tell his father about their secret meetings and the job he’d been hired for, selfishly wanting Jinyoung to remain something for his eyes only (minus BamBam too of course).

It was possessive and a little uncalled for, but Jaebum knew his father wouldn’t understand. No matter how much he said he believed Jinyoung, Jaebum had always got the underlying sense that his father was covering up the fact that he honestly didn’t know. Plus there was he whole completely-obvious crush on Jinyoung thing, and Jaebum was only mildly terrified of his dad finding out. Twenty five years later and he still wasn’t ready for that conversation.

Not only that, but Jaebum was still reeling from the words his father dug into him when he got home that day, muscles aching from the built up tension with Jinyoung all afternoon long. His father was understanding but wary as Jaebum made up some bullshit excuse about why he’d been keeping his contract with Jinyoung under wraps, claiming Jinyoung really didn’t want that many people to know and had begged Jaebum for confidentiality. His father accepted this, but in return, gave Jaebum a long speech about being careful and trusting his gut instinct. Even though his father claimed to be on Jinyoung’s side, there was only so much he could sit back and watch before he became nervous too. Jaebum knew he wasn’t saying these things to instill fear in him or to say he didn’t trust Jinyoung, he was just being cautious, and Jaebum reflected his sentiment with a spine-crushing hug and a promise to look out for himself.

And Jaebum had fucked up too, that much was obvious. He should have never brought up Mark, or thrown the past he shared with Jinyoung in his face like that. While he was hurt by the secrecy, he knew it wasn’t his story, and Jinyoung didn’t owe him anything. Mark was Jinyoung’s past, as was the rest of the town, and if Jinyoung wanted to move on and leave it behind, Jaebum was in no place to dig it all back up again.

They haven’t talked since, and the fight was nearly five days ago. Opposite of their first scuffle when Sungjin came down hard on Jinyoung, Jaebum doesn’t know if either can make things right, or if Jinyoung is even willing to try. They’d both said things, harsh things in the heat of the moment, and Jaebum desperately wishes he could take them back. Nothing about Jinyoung’s situation revolved around him, yet he tried to make it seem like he was the center of everything. When Jinyoung was in obvious dismay from what the Chief had showed them and the mention of Mark, Jaebum accused Jinyoung of ignoring his feelings and not seeing Jaebum for what he was.

If Jinyoung calls him back to work Jaebum will do his best to apologize, the moments of their fight still replaying themselves in his guilty conscience. But if Jinyoung doesn’t, and this time actually decides Jaebum isn’t worth it to keep around, he’ll understand. They may have just not been made to walk the same wavelength.

Jaebum picked the best time to leave it seemed, because just as he rolls into the edge of town, the storm gains a serious momentum, drowning his windshield in fat droplets that rage on and on without any signs of stopping. Within seconds, whatever light left from the sun is blanketed by swirls of grey and the surroundings become so thick with water that Jaebum can’t see two feet in front of him.

He nervously steps on the brakes to prevent an accident and reduces his speed, looking for any road signs in the chaos that can point him home. He’s so focused on searching for a location that he almost misses the truck stalled in front of him to the side of the dirt road, lucky enough that his reflexes can stand on their own. He slams his foot on the brake to keep from rear-ending whoever’s beat up truck is left sitting there dangerously.

Jaebum really doesn't have time to spare, wanting to get out of this weather as quickly as possible, but his gut is telling him this person needs help (if they haven’t already abandoned their car, that is), and he still believes in what his mother told him about showing kindness wherever it’s needed. He smudges away the fog from the inside of his windshield to hopefully get a better look at who it could be, momentarily stunned when he blinks at what looks like Jinyoung’s back end.

It could be a trick of light or the disruption of the _pelting rain_ fucking up his vision, but Jaebum knows that truck a little too well to just imagine it. He groans outwardly, cursing the fit of luck he’s fallen into. He could have been thrown into any other stranger stranded that needed his help, but Park fucking Jinyoung? Of all people? The universe was working hard to destroy him.

And he can’t just drive away either. Even though the pair are currently not speaking to each other, Jaebum can’t just leave him or his truck stranded in this weather. He pulls out his phone, hovering briefly over Jinyoung’s contact information before thumbing the call button.

It takes an agonizing three rings for Jinyoung to pick up the call. “Hello?” It’s hard to tell through the muffled phone speaker, but he almost sounds nervous.

“Is that your truck stuck in the middle of the road?” Jaebum keeps his voice steady, determined only to focus on Jinyoung’s current predicament.

There’s a bit of shuffling in Jinyoung’s truck before he speaks again. “It is,” he clears his throat. “Are those _your_ headlights blinding me?”

“Sorry.” Jaebum pretends he doesn’t hear annoyance coming through the line, doing his best to dim the lights anyway. “What happened?”

“I don’t really know. My car stalled, and then it didn’t come back on at all. I tried to figure out what the problem was, but I couldn’t see anything in the rain.”

Sighing in thoughts of _of fucking course_ , Jaebum curses himself for having good morals. He better get a medal out of this. “Hold on, gimme a minute.”

“You don’t-”

_Click._

Jaebum almost wants to see Jinyoung’s face as the inevitable dial tone rings through his phone, almost. Right now he’s too petty enough to care about hanging up and more focused on his task at hand, preparing himself to venture out into the thickness of the storm. It’s the only way he can check Jinyoung’s car properly, and hopefully he can pull something together that will get Jinyoung back to his house safely.

Unfortunately he doesn’t have an umbrella, never has, so Jaebum resorts to pulling out an old jacket from under the backseat and hanging it over his head to shield himself as best he can. He chucks his phone in the backseat not wanting to ruin it a second time, and painstakingly rips the door open.

The winds aren’t the worst thing that overtake him. It’s the rain, nail-biting, head-splitting rain that whips across the sides of his face and nearly blinds him with the force of it. Still, he persists on, putting himself in a slight danger in order to get Jinyoung out of it.

Jaebum struggles blindly for a moment trying to lift the hood and shield himself from the rain, and in the end does a better job of soaking himself rather than his jacket. The coat just ends up getting in the way regardless, so he slings the drenched fabric over his shoulder and attempts to figure out what’s wrong with the truck. He knows the basics of auto mechanics, but he’s still not a professional. Not to mention it’s pouring down rain and he didn’t think to bring a flashlight, leaving his view of the engine obscured.

 _Yes Jaebum,_ he thinks, _this was a brilliant well-thought out idea._

With nothing to go off of and decidedly _not_ wanting to electrocute himself, Jaebum resolves to let the town’s actual mechanic deal with this once the storm is over. He lets the hood snap shut and dodges as much water as possible while scrambles to Jinyoung’s passenger side door, finding it unlocked and slipping in with a wet squelch along the seat.

He vaguely realizes this might be a mistake when he glances at Jinyoung’s face taken back, but he’s soaked and at the moment doesn’t care that they still haven’t spoken since the fight. “I don’t know what’s wrong with it, I can’t see for shit out there.” Jaebum brushes his soppy bangs out of his eyes and wrings his fingers out, feeling the burning eyes on him as he does so. The air in Jinyoung’s truck suffocates him like a vacuum, and not just because of the humidity. “But I can tow you to the mechanics shop.”

Jinyoung shoots him a look, and that’s when Jaebum realizes that Jinyoung himself is drenched in rainwater too, indicating he must have done as Jaebum just did to no avail. “Everything’s closed.” He doesn’t sound angry or annoyed, just defeated.

“Oh,” Jaebum hums. He’d forgotten that little detail. “Well then I’ll just tow you back to your place and then we can figure something out from there.”

“Jaebum-ah, you don’t have to do that.” Jinyoung reveals in a cool tone, eyeing his soaked form. “I don’t want you to go out of your way-”

“Well too bad,” he snaps, only a little satisfaction there as Jinyoung shuts his mouth tightly. “I’m not leaving you out here until the storm passes. Put your truck in neutral and wait here.”

Jinyoung’s left speechless, and Jaebum knows it’s because he doesn’t want to burden him. After their fight he doesn’t want Jaebum coming to his rescue like he’s been known to do, content to leave their interactions at that. It’s too bad that Jaebum doesn’t care what Jinyoung wants at the moment, morally obligated to help out, and maybe just a little spitefully determined to show Jinyoung that he was wrong, and Jaebum does care.

With a nodding head that gives in to Jaebum’s demands, Jinyoung reaches for the gearshift with a tremor in his hands, leaving Jaebum to wonder just how long he’s been stuck out here waiting for someone to drive by or the weather to calm.

He doesn’t think about it anymore, braving his best game face as he slips through the doors and hurries back to his own truck. With the flick of his engine Jaebum rearranges their positions so that he’s parked directly in front of Jinyoung’s car and fishes out a decent size rope he usually keeps with all the other junk thrown in his backseat.

Having already been drenched a thousand times over, it becomes easier to handle the heavy tug of his clothes weighing him down when he exits his vehicle and makes his way over to the back end. Ignoring what now feels like mini pellets of _hail_ , Jaebum works one end of the rope around the hitch and ties it tightly, careful not to let it slip between his fingers. He manages to get the other end around the hitch under Jinyoung’s bumper easily, testing the strength of it to make sure it won’t come loose.

When he deems it acceptable, Jaebum signals to Jinyoung through the fog of his windshield and makes his way back to the driver’s seat. After he puts his truck in drive he lets himself bleed into the roaring thunder of the moment, hating the way Jinyoung always finds a way to turn him into a babbling idiot, ready to drop everything and do whatever it takes to help him. He wonders if after he drops Jinyoung off things will go back to the way they’ve been for the past few days and they’ll go back to not speaking to each other, or if either of the will take the leap to start the apology process.

It doesn’t take long before he pulls into Jinyoung’s driveway, longer than it normally would have taken, what with his mere seven miles per hour speed to keep from driving them off the road or headfirst into another car.

The rain is beating down even harder now (if that’s even possible), making it even more difficult for Jaebum to see what he’s doing. His hands slip from the knot of the rope a few times before a loud slam is heard off in the distance. He assumes it’s just thunder and thinks nothing of it, but in a flash there are another pair of hands reaching for the rope, and Jaebum blinks the water from his eyes to barely take in Jinyoung undoing the knot from under his truck. Jaebum’s got the other one undone soon enough and gathers the rope in his hands, tossing it in the truck’s bed.

He’s fully prepared to jump back into the driver’s seat and find _some_ way to get back home safely, but there’s a tug on his sleeve the moment he gets a hand tucked under the door handle. Letting his fingers slip from the surface in confusion as Jinyoung yanks him across the yard and up the porch steps, it isn’t until they’re sheltered from the onslaught of rain that Jinyoung speaks.

“Come inside,” his voice trembles from the cold, his fingers appearing instantly with his key ring. “It’s too dangerous for you to be driving in this.”

Taken back by the generous act of kindness, Jaebum can only stumble into the foyer when Jinyoung swings the door open and pulls him in by his sleeve. He’s unsure about why Jinyoung would show him such kindness after everything, but doesn’t press his luck. Likely, Jinyoung is just repaying the debt of gratitude for helping him out, reminiscent of the time before when he’d given Jaebum a meal on the house for helping him fill up his tank.

But with Jinyoung inviting him into the darkness of his home, this may be the opening Jaebum was looking for to talk about the fight and clear the air.

Then Jaebum stops and looks around - and holy shit - the power’s actually gone out. The storm must be even greater than he’d originally assumed, if it’s big enough to knock the power out. Jinyoung tries the switch in the foyer two, three times, but to no avail. They’ll have to wait it out without light, a/c, and anything else. Fuck, he can’t even charge his phone.

Recognizing that they’re currently making puddles in the foyer, Jinyoung tangles his fingers in Jaebum’s shirt and drags him forward through the living room and to the staircase. “Come on, I’ve got some clothes you can change into until these dry.” He sneaks a glance behind him as they ascend the stairs, taking in the sight of the fabric clinging to Jaebum’s torso and outlining his abs. “ _If_ they dry.”

Jaebum nods in thanks, it’s all he can do. He doesn’t refute the offer because he definitely needs to get out of these clothes pronto if he wants to avoid catching a cold, and he certainly doesn’t push Jinyoung’s hand away where it curls into his chest. There's something brimming in the air like static, it’s almost electric where Jinyoung’s got a hold on him, whether it’s because of the darkness of the house, the tension carried on their shoulders, or the wandering heat from their bodies being so close together.

They’ve tracked in a sloppy mess that they’ll have to clean up later, but it’s all in the future as Jinyoung drag’s their stiff bodies up the stairs and around to the bathroom. He all but tosses Jaebum into the tiled room, producing a fresh towel from the cabinet and setting it down on the newly renovated countertop.

“I’ll be right back,” he informs, closing the door and leaving Jaebum alone to take care of his own dripping figure.

He snakes the towel around his hands and dries off his face first, able to see more clearly now despite the blackout. It’s a bit of a struggle to get his shirt and pants off, the fabric trapping him within their cotton fines. The material squelches loudly as he literally rolls his shirt off his body and plops it on the floor, adding his jeans to the heap after nearly slipping on the tile and busting his head on the wall behind him. He’s thankful Jinyoung wasn’t privy to _that_ mess _._

Jaebum uses the towel to dry the rest of his exposed body off before removing his underwear, ringing the strands of his hair out until he deems it mildly damp enough for his liking. He hooks his thumbs into the waistband of his briefs and is about to tug them off when the doorknob jiggles.

Jaebum haphazardly rips his hands away like he’s been burned when Jinyoung slips inside, scrambling for the towel in haste to give himself some sort of cover. Jinyoung’s eyes go wide and his mouth parts apologetically, having just caught Jaebum standing around in only his underwear.

“I’m sorry, I should have knocked first,” he rambles almost breathlessly, eyes darting down to the folded clothes in his arms to avoid looking at anything he shouldn’t. Though despite the harsh lighting that drowned them, Jaebum swore he could see Jinyoung flushing pink.

“Here are some spare clothes.” Jinyoung places them gently on the counter and sneaks a glance back at Jaebum where the older’s now loosely holding the towel in front of himself. In an apparent loss for words as he eyes Jaebum’s form, there’s a second where Jinyoung takes the tiniest _gulp_ that sends Jaebum reeling. His uneasiness from before dissolves and he lets the corner of his mouth curl into a smirk that Jinyoung doesn’t miss.

In fact, it must be what makes him bump into the door frame as he attempts to walk himself out of the room backwards, earning another nervous “Sorry” out loud. Despite wanting to remain cool Jaebum chuckles in Jinyoung’s embarrassment, smiling to himself when the younger scrambles into the hallway and shuts the door with him. In an intriguing turn of events, Jinyoung seems to be the nervous one around Jaebum’s presence, and not the other way around.

What the hell was Jaebum getting himself into?

Sighing internally, Jaebum resolves to clear the air with Jinyoung before he lets anything _else_ transpire. Not that it would since Jinyoung had seemed so adamant against it, but there was also the fact that Jinyoung had tried to kiss him, and would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for that meddling window. Everything’s up in the air right now, and Jaebum’s determined to sort it all out to give himself some peace of mind.

After drying himself the rest of the way off and sliding into the grey sweats and basic black tank Jinyoung’s letting him borrow, Jaebum pads barefoot across the wooden floor, kind of at a loss for what to do now. Across the hallway there’s a small glow of orange blooming behind the crack’s of Jinyoung’s bedroom door, but Jaebum doesn’t know if he’s allowed to enter. It’s always kept closed off from him and BamBam when they’re working, and he’s never actually seen the inside. He’s never bothered to ask why because it’s absolutely none of his business, but now he’s wondering if he should.

Unless Jinyoung’s planning on letting Jaebum chill in the living room alone with no light and no furniture, then he doesn’t know what to do exactly. Not trying to be a creep but ending up looking like one anyway, Jaebum presses his ear closer to the door and listens to Jinyoung rummaging around behind it. There’s a minute or two of movement and then it stops, so Jaebum figures it’s safe to knock.

“You can come in,” he hears to his surprise, content now that Jinyoung’s seemingly okay’d his presence here.

Jaebum slips through the door and enters cautiously, only because this is his first time seeing Jinyoung’s room, and there’s still some undeniable tension between them that they’ve yet to work through.

The soft glow Jaebum had seen before catches his eyes in the form of a dozen or so candles spread around the room that cast soft shadows along the walls comfortably. It’s intriguing that Jinyoung would carry so many since he’s proclaimed to have left the pyro business - perhaps they keep him calm in times like these. Jaebum’s in no place to judge.

There’s not much to the room besides that - a full-sized mattress in the middle of the floor covered in only a white sheet and blanket, a small chest off to the side where Jinyoung probably keeps his clothes, and a table nestled under the windows that stare down into the front yard.

Along the table are a few of Jinyoung’s scattered things, from a hair brush to a notebook and pencils to a little radio, and a jewelry tree with delicate accessories hanging from its branches. Jaebum’s only ever seen Jinyoung wear rings and an occasional necklace when he’s working, so he has to wonder if Jinyoung dawns his favorite pieces when nobody’s looking. There are a few of the rings Jaebum’s seen before, some bracelet chains, a watch or two, chokers that he hates picturing because _goddamn he would look so good in those_ , some gemstone necklaces, and something else that catches his eye.

It looks to be some weird string charm, beaded from the top with cubed white beads and dazzled at the end with a red star. Jaebum lets his fingers loosely trail the _very_ old looking beads, wondering if Jinyoung had made it during his childhood. It must be of some significance if he’s kept it for so long, and Jaebum swears for a moment that it’s familiar to him. He’d probably seen Jinyoung with it before today, but he doesn’t pay the topic much mind anymore when he’s startled by the man in question and drops the accessory.

“We need to talk,” Jinyoung says out of nowhere, perched on top of his mattress wringing his hands together nervously. He’s changed into a new set of clothes as well, loose basketball shorts that definitely do not match the long sleeve grey shirt on top. “I owe you an apology.”

Jaebum pauses, taken aback. Did those words really just come out of his mouth? Was Jinyoung actually going to apologize to Jaebum first? _Oh wow,_ Jaebum thinks, eyeing Jinyoung’s apologetic form. And he does look sorry, truly, deeply sorry that he had hurt Jaebum. His heart nearly shatters at Jinyoung’s trembling hands.

Though he sounds nervous, there’s a slight edge of confidence in Jinyoung’s voice that tells Jaebum he’s been practicing what he’s about to say, and he appreciates the sentiment. “I was really out of line the other day,” he swallows, finding Jaebum’s eyes where they stare down at his in regret, “I had no right to speak to you that way.”

Jaebum nods, ducking his head bashfully. He too had been practicing his own speech. “It’s okay, you were going through a lot what with the fire threat and everything. And I don’t know if you know, but they discovered it was actually just a bunch of high schoolers who thought it would be funny to pull a prank.”

“I know,” Jinyoung says, explaining further when Jaebum gives him a questioning look, “Your dad called me earlier.”

 _Oh._ He didn’t know that, or that his dad had even had Jinyoung’s contact information in the first place. Weird that his father didn’t mention it.

“And, it’s not okay,” Jinyoung reiterates, hands falling to his sides where he gestures for the older to join him. Jaebum does so timidly, lowering himself onto the mattress in front of Jinyoung but leaving a few feet between them. “You don’t owe me anything explanations. You don’t owe me or anyone else anything. I just thought-” Jinyoung stops, refusing to meet Jaebum’s stare. “I thought you were ashamed to be associated with me, and that’s why you didn’t tell your dad.”

Jaebum sees how his actions can be misconstrued that way. But the question is now, does he tell Jinyoung the truth and risk exposing his true feelings, or leave it at that? “I could never be ashamed of you.” He leaves it at that.

“I know. But I’m still sorry for the way I treated you. It’s none of my business.” There’s a faint sound of rain dribbling against the sides of the house as thunder rolls on overhead. Jinyoung grows even more serious, finally meeting Jaebum’s gaze. “And what you said before, about me only caring about ‘fixing my house and getting out of here’? Well you’re wrong.”

“I care about this town even though it hates me. I care about your dad for looking out for me all these years, and I care about BamBam still wanting to be my friend despite everything.” Jinyoung’s lower lip twitches slightly as he exhales, leaving Jaebum at the edge of his seat - he makes sure not to blink as he delivers his next words. “And I care about you, a lot more than I should. Even if you’re too stubborn to see it.”

Jaebum could laugh. Or cry. Or both. He knew he was being childish when he accused Jinyoung of not caring, but Jaebum was hurt, and in return he wanted Jinyoung to hurt as well. Now hearing the words spoken out loud give Jaebum his peace of mind and a fluttery feeling swirling in the pit of his stomach. And even though they’ll still speaking on a serious topic, the air feels lighter now that Jinyoung’s poked fun at his stubbornness.

“I’m sorry I said that, I was just hurt,” Jaebum tries, mind reeling back to the moment his words became a tool for punishment. He was just angry, letting out the spouts of pent up rage he’d been carrying from the moment Mark revealed the secret to him. “And I’m sorry for bringing up your past with Mark, it wasn’t any of my business. It was your history, and I had no right to demand you tell any of it to me.” Jinyoung’s eyes soften, and he scoots just an inch or two closer, so close that Jaebum can feel the heat radiating off his legs. “I just felt a little betrayed that you would keep something like that from me, like you didn’t want me finding out the truth. It scared me because I didn’t want them to be right, the town. I don’t want to think you were keeping secrets from me.”

“I’m not, I just,” Jinyoung raises his hand like he wants to reach out to him, but it falls flat. He licks his lips. “Mark and I had a long history. I do with most people here. But he’s different and that history hurt more. I’m going to tell you, because I want you to trust me.” Suddenly Jinyoung is rising from the bed and opening one of the windows, letting the room fill with the sounds of the pitter patter of rain. He then moves towards his chest, lifting the lid and scrambling through it. “I’m sorry, my anxiety’s rising and the conversation isn’t really helping. Do you mind if I smoke to calm my nerves?”

Jaebum blinks. “You smoke..?” He’s almost too afraid to ask what, but low and behold Jinyoung procures a small Ziploc baggie with a premade joint inside, perfectly rolled. Jaebum stares, dumbfounded, but his heart grows three sizes bigger. “Jinyoung-ah I think I just fell in love with you.”

Jinyoung startles at his joking words, smacking him on the ankle and flushing prettily. “It’s just weed.”

“If I had known you were a pothead we could have been smoking this entire time.” Jaebum laughs, gesticulating with his wrists. “We probably wouldn’t be having stupid fights if we did.”

Jinyoung just hums to himself, but there’s a smirk buried at the corner of his mouth that Jaebum doesn’t miss. It’s almost melodic when Jinyoung rolls the white paper between his fingers and digs a match out of the chest, striking it beautifully along the edge of the box.

Before he lights the joint he stares at the colors of the flame, drinking in the chemical reaction and the hues of blue that fade into a creamy orange. Maybe he stares too long, or maybe not long enough, but Jaebum observes the light flickering in his eyes, how Jinyoung’s pupils seem to dilate ever so slightly.

But then Jinyoung is dragging the flame to the joint and letting it engulf the paper. He flicks the match out and tosses it to the side before his pink lips wrap around the joint delicately. Jaebum is stuck, transfixed on the action. It shouldn’t be attractive, but watching Jinyoung inhale suddenly has Jaebum feeling tighter in Jinyoung’s sweats.

“So tell me about Mark,” he remedies, hoping Jinyoung doesn’t notice his little hiccup.

“We met at church when we were really young,” Jinyoung says through the wisps of smoke exiting his mouth. He must not have noticed, or ignored it completely. “Our parents were close because they attended my father’s bible study, so we became friends naturally and saw each other nearly everyday because we went to the elementary school.”  

“The only days we never saw each other were holidays and Saturdays,” he reminisces, aging back to his youth, when things were hectic but probably far less complicated. “BamBam was my good friend, but Mark was with me through everything. He took care of me as his dongsaeng - he stayed with me after fights with my father, tutored me through school, held me back from getting into some dangerous situations. He was even there when I lit my first match.”

So they did have a long history and _wow_ , Jaebum begins to understand where Mark could be coming from. Across the mattress Jinyoung generously offers him the joint, so Jaebum scoots closer on the bed and takes it, stretching his legs out where they bracket one of Jinyoung’s own. It’s like fire where they touch, and not just because of the candles surrounding them. “He said you guys had a falling out in grade nine.”

Jinyoung’s hint of a smile drops as quickly as it came. He picks at the seam of his shirt absentmindedly, looking far off in thought as Jaebum takes a hit. “He told me he was in love with me,” he gulps loudly, not finding it in himself to look up. “It was after school one day and we were hanging out by the track, getting into mischief. He confessed to me out of nowhere and it really shocked me.”

The joint falls from Jaebum’s lips after he lets the smoke fill his lungs. He’s surprised for sure after seeing Mark as he is now, that he could have once been in love with Jinyoung. Mark loved easily, so it wasn’t too far-fetched. At least he’s moved on - he has Youngjae now and whatever their little relationship is.

“You didn’t - You didn’t feel the same way?” Jaebum stutters as he exhales through his nose, nearly choking on the smoke when Jinyoung snaps his gaze to him coyly.

“No, I didn’t.” Jinyoung says matter-of-factly taking back his offered joint. “I didn’t feel much of anything for anyone those days, and I certainly wasn’t in love with Mark. I think I loved him, as my friend, but I was so messed up back then that I couldn’t even see it.”

“So what happened after?”

“I…” Jinyoung stops to exhale, closing his eyes when he feels the touch of Jaebum’s fingers wrapping around his ankle to anchor him with comfort. “I laughed in his face.” Jaebum’s mouth drops in horror leaving Jinyoung to turn away in shame. “I was so young,” he explains, devastated. “I didn’t know what love was and I thought, _there’s no way he could feel that way about me_ , you know?”

Jaebum does know, he knows about failed crushes all too well. First with Wooyoung, then with Jinyoung (which may or not be failed?). But it was never about love with him, like it was for Mark. He’s truly at a loss, stuck picturing the heartbroken face of the child as he revealed his feelings and been laughed at. He wishes he could resent Jinyoung for hurting his friend, but it had been so long ago and Jinyoung has changed, not to mention it’s hard to stay mad at him with the crush looming overhead.

“Then we both said some things, I can’t really remember them now, but I basically told him I could never love him like that and he told me he hated me and never wanted to see me again.”

The pieces have finally come together, allowing Jaebum to see why Mark bears so much anger for the man before him. He knows it sucks, but it is warranted after the way Jinyoung treated him. But Jinyoung is not his past, and that sociopathic kid is not the same one Jaebum’s come to care for a great deal.

“I’m sorry,” he says earnestly, taking a chance by letting his hand trail gently from Jinyoung’s ankle to the bend of his knee, tracing the smooth flesh in hopes of being a gentle reminder that who he is now is not who he was then. Jinyoung makes no move to stop him, relishing in the touch. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to bring that up.”

“I deserved it, I was horrible to him. I wasn’t that great a friend either, I used him a lot.” He hands the joint back to Jaebum, knocking their knees together as he does so. “I hoped eventually I could apologize, but I’ve accepted that it will ever happen.”

As Jaebum lets the smoke overtake his lungs, he thinks about Mark, and he thinks about Jinyoung. If they could ever make amends and be friends again, or if they would walk down this road forever with no closure. He wants it to happen - they don’t have to even be friends again, but at least they could be okay with each other, and Jaebum wouldn’t feel like he’s betraying Mark in some way every time he hangs around Jinyoung.

In reality, he doesn’t see any of this happening. The past is too far in the past, Jinyoung’s seen as a murderer, and Mark wouldn’t dare go near him nor hear him out. It’s the sad fact Jaebum will have to deal with.

“Hey so, I have a question.” Smoke pours into the quiet room, and Jaebum seeks to change to subject to keep things from getting too depressing. “Did you really beat up some kid named Hobi?”

He remembers the tale, the one Yugyeom had presented to him in the internet cafe when he’d been digging up on Jinyoung’s past. He needs to know if there’s any validity to it, or if Yugyeom had heard the rumor and wanted to scare him.

Jinyoung facepalms in embarrassment, nose scrunching at the memory. “I didn’t beat him up, I only punched him,” he clarifies, though Jaebum can tell by the tone of his voice that he’s successfully lightened the mood. “He called me, and I quote, a ‘flaming faggot’, so I rightfully gave him a black eye and threatened to um, set his dick on fire.”

That earns Jinyoung a laugh right at the moment Jaebum is taking another hit, which ends up with him not-so-gracefully choking on the fumes. “Oh god, remind me to never piss you off again,” he grins after his coughing fit, wiping the tears leaking from his eyes. “Flaming faggot, huh? That’s an almost perfect way to describe you.”

“Yah, you’re one to talk!” Jinyoung exclaims, ripping the joint from Jaebum’s fingers before giving him a good kick to the side. Only because they’re in the midst of Jaebum’s declining sobriety, he finds himself tumbling over with a screech, sending Jinyoung back against the mattress in a heap of giggles.

In all the commotion Jaebum stops, sitting up when the lively sound fills the darkness of the room. He regains his composure and plants his hands on Jinyoung’s knees to watch in awe as he becomes consumed by his own laughter. It’s beautiful, gut-twisting laughter that has Jinyoung struggling to breathe and making Jaebum wonder how he’s gone so long without hearing it. This is the real Jinyoung, the one he’s been dying to see from the beginning.

“What is happening? Is _the_ Park Jinyoung actually laughing? Out loud?” He gasps overdramatically, hiding his mouth behind the back of his face in amazement.

Jinyoung regains his own composure and sits back up, hiding the rest of his blinding smile with his palm. He doesn’t hide the utterly cute whiskers that form by the edges of his eyes, the lines turning him into the image of a playful kitten. “It’s only because I’m high, and in really good company.”

It’s Jaebum’s turn to hide his own smile beneath his palm, praying the dim lighting hides the flush he feels crawling up the back of his neck. He catches Jinyoung’s gaze and bites his lip, letting his hand trail softly down the top of Jinyoung’s thigh, tracing over the flesh as a response to his admittance. Now that he’s had a few long drags of weed Jaebum can confidently say he’s reached a mellow high, letting his body relax into the surroundings around him, letting his touches bleed out into something else.

The drug has also made him sluggish and giddy, and if he stills, he swear he feels something crackling in the air. “I have another question, if you don’t mind my asking.”

Jinyoung chuckles (a sound Jaebum will never ever get over), white puffs pushed through his teeth as he does so. “Shoot.”

“Why did you decide now of all times to come back?”

Time seems to slow down as Jinyoung lets the joint hang loosely between his fingertips, eyes dropping to the sensation of Jaebum’s fingers caressing his skin. “My dad passed away before the summer.”

And that’s not at all what Jaebum was hoping to hear. He shouldn’t have even asked the question. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I shouldn't have-”

“We weren’t that close.” Jinyoung waves him off with the back of his hand. He means for Jaebum not to worry about it, but he does anyway. “But he must have had good life insurance, because he left me with a lot of money and whatever was left of his house.”

Jaebum consider his next words very carefully.

“Is that how you were able to pay for the church to be rebuilt?”

Beneath his palm, Jinyoung stills. “How did you-”

“I didn’t, it was just a guess,” the older admits nonchalantly, playing Jinyoung into his little trap. He had admittedly seen the signs before and had stored them away to ask about later; he was smarter than a lot of people gave him credit for. “You freezing up whenever I mentioned it, paying with checks, having to work more hours because you had little left over. But I guess you just confirmed it for me.”

If Jinyoung’s hurt by Jaebum’s little mind game, he doesn’t show it. “I just couldn’t leave it at that, I had to do something.”

He’s so sincere that Jaebum has to take a moment to think. Jinyoung’s proven himself again that he’s a genuine, caring individual. He’s not the psychopath the town paints him out to be, he could never be that person and yet share so much of himself with Jaebum like this.

“I think it’s the bravest thing anyone’s ever done,” he decides on saying, utterly floored by Jinyoung’s devotion to the one place that refuses to show anything to him in return. “You didn’t let anyone know it was you, when you could have made a show of it to gain back everyone’s trust.”

“You’re the most selfless person I’ve ever known,” Jaebum sighs, tracing his thumb over Jinyoung’s thigh affectionately. He uses the other hand to brush the barely damp ends of Jinyoung’s hair behind his ears, relishing in the sound of Jinyoung’s breath catching. “And I wish they could see what I see.”

Jinyoung looks at a loss for words now, watching Jaebum with a glint in his eye that hadn’t been there before, or maybe he’s just now noticing it. Either way, Jaebum’s stuck as Jinyoung stares at him soulfully, lost in the tug of the joint between his lips and the flicker of the candle light that casts intricate shadows along the planes of his face.

Then Jinyoung is exhaling, spewing the hit back into the air with practiced finesse that drives Jaebum wild. With the smoke whirling around him, Jaebum is content to dissolve within it, breathing in deeply to catch whatever’s left of Jinyoung’s hit. He closes his eyes to savor it, but when he opens them Jinyoung’s watching him with a different look than before, and then it’s like something flickers in his face.

In seconds Jinyoung is abandoning his spot on the bed to crawl into Jaebum’s lap, bracketing his legs on either side of Jaebum’s body. Barely being able to process the new weight on top of him and the feeling of Jinyoung’s body pressing into his, Jaebum melts like putty in Jinyoung’s hands, hanging on the edge of his seat for what’s to come next. In the startling action, Jaebum’s hand accidentally slides further up Jinyoung’s thigh and now rests near the bottom, his fingers fidgeting in the fabric of the end of Jinyoung’s shorts. He doesn’t pull out, and Jinyoung doesn’t stop him from laying his palm flat against the burning skin.

Then in the most elegant of ways, Jinyoung is sucking the end of the joint between his lips and savoring the taste of the long drag. He’s got one hand on Jaebum’s shoulder to steady them in their new positions, but as Jinyoung slips the paper from his mouth the same hand trails along the lines of his neck and buries itself in his air. Jaebum’s left hooked on the stimulating touch alone, left in silence to stare up at Jinyoung with hooded eyes as he dips in closer.

“Open,” he says when their noses brush, Jaebum powerless to do anything else as he follows Jinyoung’s command.

As soon as his lips are parted Jinyoung’s leaning in the rest of the way, hovering barely a hairsbreadth away with his own. In an instant Jaebum feels the smoke pass from Jinyoung’s lips and enter through his own, breath hot in his mouth where Jinyoung’s just shared his hit.

The sensation warms his belly, but everywhere else is fire burning as Jinyoung tugs the strands of his hair for better access, wraps his legs around his waist, and watches Jaebum like he’s a meal to be devoured. Jinyoung to must be feeling the effects of the volcanic ash spewing around them as he rolls his hips further into Jaebum’s to bring their bodies closer together when he brings the joint to Jaebum’s lips, and dipping in to catch the fumes on his exhale.

The movement stirs something in Jaebum’s gut, because Jinyoung’s shifting has pushed his hand further into his shorts, and it’s with the sudden realization as Jaebum’s fingers brush against the soft flesh that Jinyoung’s not wearing any underwear.

And that’s evident too where their hips align on the mattress, where Jaebum can feel Jinyoung’s length pressing into his own. Jaebum’s not hard yet, but he’s getting there, and if this continues any longer he’s going to have a serious problem on his hands.

Which may be exactly what Jinyoung wants, it seems, because after he takes another long drag of the joint and breathes it into Jaebum’s mouth, his hips shift slightly, rolling softly against the fabric of Jaebum’s sweats. It’s small enough to go unnoticed as a minor shift of balance, but they’ve been pressed against each other now so Jaebum knows it’s intentional, and the weed disrupting his senses makes the contact feel even more sensatiable.

The subtle rock of Jinyoung into him every time they take a drag brushes their groins together ever so slightly, sending a shock wave of pleasure through Jaebum’s body, failing to hold back the breathy moan that escapes his mouth in a cloud of smoke. Of course Jinyoung hears this and smirks, rolling his hips even more this time as Jaebum sucks another puff from the joint.

With Jinyoung slowly but surely rolling into him now as they eagerly pass the rest of the joint between their lips, the sensation almost becomes too much too handle, and Jaebum has to dig his fingers into the skin of Jinyoung’s bare thigh to hold himself together. Feeling like Jinyoung’s too in control, Jaebum ends up experimentally trailing his fingers to the swell of Jinyoung’s ass, earning a surprised gasp from the younger and an airy groan when Jaebum tugs Jinyoung impossibly closer to his body.

The joint dwindles down in their fingers as they continue this cycle of shotgunning and hip twisting, Jinyoung’s hips more so now being dragged into Jaebum’s with the exhilarating grip around his ass. Sweat clings to Jinyoung’s temples as he follows the slow pace Jaebum sets, the now semi-hardness in both of their pants difficult to ignore. Jaebum can feel Jinyoung growing bigger with every second spent in their gentle grind, but he wants more. If this was what they were going to do, Jaebum wasn’t going to let anything else stop them from getting there.

Eventually the joint runs out and their movements stop as Jinyoung flicks it off to the side and eyes Jaebum dreamily with parted lips. His pupils are blown, his hand is still tangled messily in the hair at the back of Jaebum’s neck, and his staggered breathing bumps into Jaebum’s chest with every inhale and exhale. Drowning in the sight of Jinyoung worked up like this Jaebum nudges their foreheads together and ventures past the point of no return.

“One last question,” he declares, confidence edging in the roughness of his voice. Jinyoung hums airily, bringing their faces even closer together, so close that Jaebum's lips lightly brush against Jinyoung’s when he speaks. “Would you have kissed me if that window hadn’t have gotten in our way?”

Jinyoung’s hand curls tight against his hip as he enunciates slowly. “Desperately.”

“But you said-”

“I know what I said,” Jinyoung bites, nosing down Jaebum’s jawline delicately until he reaches the supple skin of his neck. His mouth parts just above his pulse point, the hot puff of his breath sending a chill down Jaebum’s spine. “But you’re just too intoxicating for me to say no.”

And Jaebum can’t even say anything back; his mouth parts but he has trouble finding the words. His throat goes dry when he feels the faintest touch of Jinyoung’s lips on the side of his neck, clenching his fingers harder into his ass. At this, Jinyoung clamps down hard on Jaebum’s skin and sucks the dampening flesh from the swipe of his tongue.

Jinyoung makes slow, agonizing work of tasting as much of him as he can, leaving Jaebum to nearly crawl out of his skin at the sensation. He hisses as Jinyoung licks over the sensitive spot over his pulse, but he needs more, needs Jinyoung to give him _something_ else.

Jaebum resorts to taking things over for the time being if he doesn’t want to impatiently wait for his dick to get touched, drawing Jinyoung’s hips back where his hands are still wrapped around his plush bottom. Jaebum rolls Jinyoung into himself desperate to feel more, sighing at the sensation of their lengths rubbing together through the fabric.

Jinyoung takes things into his own hands when he notices Jaebum getting impatient, grinding their hips together hard, earning him a pleased “ _fuck”_ in return.

Then they’re kissing, open-mouthed and desperate, chasing the heat as their lips smack together wetly. It’s everything Jaebum’s imagined and more, Jinyoung’s mouth expertly molding to his in a practiced dance of skills, bottom lip thick and plump where Jaebum sucks on it with a hearty groan. Then tongues are sliding together hotly, battling it out in the twisted dance of theirs that has both boys struggling for air.

Neither try to break the kiss to come up to breathe as they map each other out intricately, tugging and tasting until either one can’t stand it anymore. Hips moving and lengths fully hardened, Jaebum can feel the tip of his dick leaking into Jinyoung’s sweats, wondering if Jinyoung can feel it too - how riled up he makes him.

He wants to hear Jinyoung whine, beg, plead, anything as he ruts into him, and he has the perfect idea how, snaking his fingers fully into Jinyoung’s shorts so that both hands find where his cheeks meet. He dips in the middle and tentatively slides Jinyoung’s cheeks apart, each hand grabbing a fistful of his ass as he does so. Jinyoung in response hiccups a moan around Jaebum’s tongue, and Jaebum swallows the sound with his own hum of pleasure.

But still, it’s not enough. Jaebum’s got Jinyoung’s ass in his hands and his dick leaking out before him, but the heat generating from their bodies is too much to handle, so they need to remove some clothes before he passes out from a heat stroke.

Jaebum removes his hands from Jinyoung’s shorts earning him a displeased hum, but Jinyoung gets the message soon enough and all but rips his shirt from Jaebum’s body. Now that they’ve got a chance to breathe, Jinyoung tosses the shirt wherever and Jaebum heaves in a deep breath as he puts Jinyoung’s image to memory.

The sheen of sweat along his collarbones, his swollen red lips covered in a mixture of both of their saliva, his pupils blown wide from his arousal, and the flush dousing his skin prettily like a painting of erotic bliss.

He wants to see more, feel more, _taste_ more, but when he hooks his hands under the hem of Jinyoung’s shirt the younger finds them and pulls them away. While Jaebum is surprised at first he doesn’t think about it for too long because the next thing he knows Jinyoung is pushing him back against the mattress with the palm of his hand and reaching around to pin his wrists together above his head.

Jaebum feels powerless as Jinyoung bends him to his will, kissing the sensitive spot on his neck and rolling back into him with a fever. But it’s so hot at the same time, letting Jinyoung take control of everything, leaving Jaebum to beg for every little thing. “P-please,” he whines breathlessly, meeting Jinyoung’s hips as he grinds up into him.

“Tell me I’m not a rebound.” Jinyoung detaches his lips and pants into his hair, mouth parted as he rides the sensation of their erections brushing against each other between the fabric.

Jaebum blinks, not expecting the words but too succumbed to Jinyoung’s body to think much of his fears about being the one after Wooyoung. “You’re not a - god no you could never be a re-”

Jinyoung suffocates him with another bruising kiss, harder and sloppier this time than the previous ones. “Tell me you want me.”

“I do.” And god, if all this wasn’t evident of how much he did, from the very moment Jinyoung stepped foot into his shop and wrangled him into their little game of cat and mouse. He realizes he sounds desperate, but he doesn’t care, he only wants to feel Jinyoung pressing him further into the mattress and making him squirm. “I want you so badly I can’t even stand it.”

Jinyoung attacks his mouth like he’s going to war, and with Jaebum’s hands pinned above him, all he can do is take it and _take_ it, take Jinyoung’s relentless tongue stealing his oxygen and and take his hips driving him into a frenzy.

Then Jinyoung is moving lower, trailing open-mouthed kiss after kiss along Jaebum’s jaw, neck, and chest to taste every inch of the skin that leads down to his torso. He sucks at the firm skin and licks his way down, hands slipping from Jaebum’s wrists to caress the flesh his mouth doesn’t touch. Hands now free from their confines, Jaebum threads them through Jinyoung’s sweaty brown locks and waits.

Jaebum watches in wonder as Jinyoung noses down the coarse hair of his abdomen and presses hot kisses to the burning skin, stopping when he reaches the waistband on Jaebum’s sweatpants.

“Jinyoung-aahhh,” Jaebum moans almost involuntarily from the desire building up in him like a dam ready to break down. He tugs Jinyoung’s hair experimentally and Jinyoung snaps his eyes to Jaebum’s as he lowers himself to hover over his erection, silently begging him to continue.

Without breaking eye contact Jinyoung does so daringly, sucking the head of Jaebum’s erection into his mouth through the cloth. The sensation of Jinyoung’s mouth around him, if only through the fabric of his pants, and their locked eyes has Jaebum’s head dropping backwards onto the mattress with a broken sigh.

His fingers grip tighter around Jinyoung’s scalp as the younger sucks and licks around the damp spot he’s just made, and Jaebum’s three seconds away from begging to be touched when Jinyoung dips his fingers into his waistband.

He’s about to tug the sweats off and finally take Jaebum all the way down when a faint noise rings out from downstairs, startling Jaebum onto his elbows. Jinyoung looks up at Jaebum and freezes, mouth still pressed to his dick.

“What was that?”

Then there’s nothing. Silence stretches on for a minute or two, and the growing lack of movement makes Jaebum believe for a second that it was something out of his imagination, or most likely just the storm outside. But then from the hallway comes a -

“Jinyoung hyung? Jaebum hyung? Where you guys at?”

As BamBam’s hollering voice climbs up the stairs, in the simplest of terms, Jaebum and Jinyoung scramble.

Jinyoung’s removing himself from Jaebum’s body in a hurry and righting his appearance messily, all the while Jaebum’s stuck in a crawl down on his hands and knees trying to find where in the fuck Jinyoung threw his shirt.

“Shit, where the fuck is my shirt?” Jaebum scream-whispers in a panicked frenzy, scouring the floor because _it couldn’t have gotten too fucking far._

“ _My_ shirt,” Jinyoung corrects in a huff, rushing to the door.

He opens it just it time to met BamBam at the top of the steps, and thinking quickly he shuts the door behind him in case BamBam tried to look through. His hands find their way to the hem of his grey shirt, trying to make it look as inconspicuous as possible when he tugs it down just enough to hide the hard-on in his shorts.

Jinyoung clears his throat and collects his breathing. “Bam-ah, what are you doing here?”

“The storm let up,” BamBam shrugs without a clue in the world. “So I had my brother come take me to pick up my laptop that I left in your room.”

Jinyoung’s face lights up in an ‘ _aha!_ ’ moment, granting his friend a playful but fake smile to clear any suspicion. “I’ll get it! You just stay right here.”

“What, why?” BamBam’s face falls in perplexity, but Jinyoung doesn’t have time to catch it as he makes the smallest crack in the door as possible and slides in.

Jaebum’s managed to find his shirt by the time Jinyoung’s returned, throwing a questioning look to the other that asks _Why the fuck is BamBam here?_ Jinyoung just shrugs and finds BamBam’s laptop hiding under the table as Jaebum gets an arm through his sleeve. But he’s not quick enough, and in a flash the door sways forward and BamBam’s voice is no longer muffled.

“Hyung why are you being so weird -? _Oh._ ”

Jaebum just barely manages to get his head through the hole when BamBam catches sight on him, left to watch on silently as he rolls the shirt down the rest of the way. Inside out. Jaebum groans and looks away, not wanting to see the look on the youngest’s face as he pieces everything together, and definitely not wanting him to see the raging boner (and giant wet spot where Jinyoung’s mouth had been).

“Jaebum hyung,” BamBam quirks his head, finally taking in the appearance of the two. He scans Jaebum’s inside out shirt and refusal to meet his face, then moves on to Jinyoung, noting his fingers fidgeting below his abdomen. It doesn’t take much for things to click, the boy suddenly flustered and looking anywhere else but the pair. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to intrude-”

“It’s okay Bam, nothing’s going on.” Jaebum finally musters up the courage to turn around, doing his best to cover his own front with his shirt as he does so. BamBam’s still looking away. “Yah, why are you even driving out in that storm, huh?”

“It calmed down, I was just coming to get my laptop really quick.”

Jaebum turns cautiously to the windows, scoffing at the rain letting up without informing him first. He hadn’t noticed or heard a thing even with the window open, but then again he’d been busy with other things, another person drowning out the sound of the outside world.

Jaebum turns back to see the embarrassment crawling across Jinyoung’s skin,“I guess I better get going too then, my dad’s probably worried I haven’t called yet.”

“Y-yeah, of course,” Jinyoung stutters with an uneven breath, scratching the back of his neck with one hand. “You uh, you go let him know you’re okay.”

Right, of course. Jaebum didn’t need to stay. His dad was probably calling around for his for the past couple of hours, and with Jaebum’s phone dead he hasn’t heard a peep. He shuffles to the door awkwardly, and for the first time doesn’t know exactly what his next plan is.

He turns suddenly, meeting Jinyoung’s blinking eyes, “Call me whenever and I can come tow your truck to the shop.”

And despite the awkward tension with BamBam hanging around, Jinyoung bites his lip and smiles, a genuine smile that tells Jaebum not to worry, that whatever’s happening between them is going to work itself out eventually. “Thank you.”

“See you around then.” Jaebum waves shyly for lack of a better response. He finds BamBam’s gaze on the ceiling. “Bye Bam.”

The kid nods without looking down. “Hyung.”

As soon as he’s out of the room the door shuts soundly behind him, and he’s content to just gather his wet clothes and leave. But then he hears whispering behind the door, and BamBam is gasping out an _Oh my god hyung you guys finally did it?_

Jaebum has to hide a chuckle behind his palm as he gathers his things. They didn’t do _it_ , but they did _something._ And that something has shifted the another something between them, because he feels it, and he knows Jinyoung feels it too.

He leaves Jinyoung’s house in a numb exhilaration, because how did this become his life?


	9. IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it's me, sorry I been away for so long I had the worst migraine back in October, and ever since then I had this residual headache that has yet to go away. It's almost gone, and I am feeling a lot better ! I managed to graduate college in December and turned 22 in January !
> 
> We're a little over halfway done with this story, so here's a little bit of niceties before we head into the shitstorm. As always, let me know what you think :)

**_“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”_ ** **\- 2 Timothy 2:22**

The hurricane rolls on - branches are ripped from trees, yards are drenched in rainwater, kids naively swim in the runoff without thinking of potential consequences - but damages are sparse, and by the time the weekend is over, the storm has run its course. It swings by Jinhae and rips through Busan before scuttling back into the gulf, the runoff only affecting a few hundred people. 

Shifting into the first sight of dry land in what feels like years, Jaebum awakens earlier than usual that Monday morning because he has a promise to keep, and that is towing Jinyoung’s car to the mechanic’s shop and get them both to work on time.

They haven’t seen each other all weekend, not since Jinyoung had gotten caught in the storm and persuaded Jaebum to stay until the thick of it had settled, inadvertently resulting in their fiery explosion of long-awaited and built-up desire. It was certainly out of the blue and weighed heavy on whatever kind of relationship and trust they had built, and it sits like an anvil on Jaebum's mind. 

They’ve talked on the phone since then, only once, when Jinyoung had called and asked for Jaebum’s help with his truck once more, but neither brought up their kiss nor the way Jinyoung had nearly gone down on him in the heat of the moment.

Jaebum wonders what would have happened if there had been no interruption by their boisterous friend, if they would’ve had mind-blowing sex in Jinyoung’s dimly lit room, or if either one of them would’ve called it off before it had gone too far. Either way, the moment still plays through Jaebum’s mind like a record player on repeat, and when he closes his eyes, he can still feel the firm weight of Jinyoung on top of him and still falls prey to the burning fire in his eyes.

Their quick foreplay-at-best was something that needed to be discussed in person to figure out what it all meant, but it didn’t stop Jaebum’s gut from fluttering at the sound of Jinyoung’s voice as he succumbed to his memories again and was transported back to the younger’s bedroom, falling apart under the Jinyoung’s touch so effectively. He knew Jinyoung was just as in tune to the passed moment as he was, he could hear it in the airy light tone Jinyoung spoke with through the receiver, and the way his breath stuttered ever so slightly when Jaebum spoke his name.

There were now many things left in the crevices of Jaebum’s mind that all revolved around Park Jinyoung, from the touch of his hand to the heat of his mouth and the softness of his lips. Not to mention how things were playing out between the two, how Jinyoung feels about him - whether it was because BamBam was right and Jinyoung had some sort of feelings for him too, or it was just a heat of the moment thing that likely wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

There’s still much to think about, much to  _ talk _ about with Jinyoung when they meet again, and Jaebum doesn’t have much time to contemplate his words as he pulls blearily into Jinyoung’s driveway and gives his horn a little honk.

While he waits for Jinyoung to come out, Jaebum stumbles from the driver’s seat and makes his way towards the broken down engine of Jinyoung’s car. He still doesn’t know exactly what’s wrong, and he’s not exactly certified in auto mechanics, so there’s no way for him to really check.

In the same manner he had done previously, Jaebum rigs the front end of the truck to his back end, only this time with the proper towing cables that he’d borrowed from his next door neighbor, and shaky hands that tremble ever so slightly as he secures the cables around both cars.

It’s an understatement to say he’s nervous; he’s sweating bullets that he hopes Jinyoung won’t notice and his heart pummels in his chest like he’s going into cardiac arrest. He’s unsure what Jinyoung will want to say to him - if anything at all. 

When he’s satisfied with his work and determines everything safe for the short journey back into town, Jaebum pushes off from his knees and gets to his feet, brushing his pants off as he does so. 

When he looks back towards the house, a gasp gets choked off in his throat and he stumbles back gracefully as he finds Jinyoung hovering over where he’d just been working. Jaebum hadn’t even heard the door open, nor the crunch of Jinyoung’s black converse against the dirt. Despite his heart hammering wildly and his breathing becoming uneven, Jaebum is still amazed at how easily it is for Jinyoung to evade sound.

“You’ve got to stop doing that,” Jaebum manages with a small smile, hand held over his heart to try and steady its rhythm. 

Jinyoung’s wearing a light black sweater tucked into his work jeans, his brown hair is brushed lightly over his forehead, and he looks at Jaebum with an odd expression - mouth pulled in a straight line and eyes far off and distant, like Jaebum isn’t even there.

“Sorry,” Jinyoung offers, but says nothing else, and makes no other move to show he’s actually interested in what Jaebum has to say.

Jaebum’s stomach sinks.

It almost feels as if Jinyoung has seemingly reverted back into the shell he crawled into town with, like nothing had happened all these weeks between them, and nothing had led up to the moment during the storm. He hopes it’s not what Jinyoung wanted in the end, to forget there encounter had happened in the first place, and to toss Jaebum back at arm’s distance again.

He can understand if he would. After all, it was unconventional, and they had been really high in the moment. Not to mention the fact that BamBam had interrupted them at the most inopportune time, making things extremely awkward and uncomfortable. He would understand the embarrassment and everything, but he would still want to at least talk about it. 

Or maybe Jaebum was imagining things, overthinking it like he tends to do. But Jinyoung doesn’t say anything else, just shrugs his shoulders and looks at the ground. This time perhaps Jaebum really is surprised, because after everything, he really thought Jinyoung had trusted him - liked him a little, even.

He tries not to show his heartbreak, eyes falling to the same spot on the ground between them. He clears his throat, thinking vaguely that maybe, just maybe, the townspeople were right in some light. “I guess we should get going.”

Jaebum doesn’t wait for Jinyoung to reply, not that he  _ would  _ anyhow, walking past Jinyoung to sit himself behind his wheel. It takes only a few seconds for Jinyoung to get the message, and while he treads along to the passenger side, Jaebum cools his face into something other than the hurt and disappointment he feels, trying to pretend that everything is okay. He’ll just have to deal with the rejection later.

The air is stiff and awkward, and once Jinyoung buckles his seat belt, Jaebum starts the engine just to give his hands something to do so he can try to ignore the dry tension that’s amounted between the two. He shifts the gear into drive and nearly gets his foot on the gas when Jinyoung monotonously says - 

“We need to talk.”

There it was, out in the air. What Jaebum was anxious for before he now dreads, knowing that Jinyoung will probably want to inevitably forget everything.

Sighing in anticipation of the conversation coming, Jaebum punches the car back into park and removes the keys from the ignition. In the now painful silence, he drops his hands to his sides and waits for Jinyoung to let him down gently.

When Jinyoung lets the silence flow, Jaebum doesn’t even care anymore, breaking the cloud of tension for him. “Let me guess,” he still avoids looking back at Jinyoung, though he can feel the weight of his stare on his profile. “What happened the other day was a mistake and you regret it. Look, you can let me down easy, you want to pretend like it never happened.”

The awkward air drags on now that Jaebum’s delivered his whole spiel, and he doesn’t dare turn his head to the side. But what Jinyoung says in response to this jolts Jaebum down to the core.

“No.”

Fast enough to give him whiplash, Jaebum spins to face Jinyoung directly now, confusion nipping at the end of his tongue. “I just thought…”

Jinyoung faces him calmly, his hands pulled neatly in his lap. His lips part elegantly and slow as his words reverberate throughout the car. “Do  _ you _ regret it and want to pretend like nothing happened?”

His eyes are now caught on Jaebum’s, sincerity and longing swirling through them unlike the seemingly empty void they held moments ago. Jaebum can see it now too, the nervousness and anxiety that Jinyoung carries as he asks the question aloud, like he’s scared that this is what Jaebum wants. The openness of it all knocks Jaebum back blindly into his seat, and he struggles to catch his breath for a moment in order to squash Jinyoung’s own anxieties.

“No,” he reassures gently, trembling hands falling into a gentle rhythm at his sides as he feels he can now breathe easy again. “No, I don’t regret it at all.”

A shy smile tugs at the corners of Jinyoung’s mouth. “Good,” he sighs. “Neither do I.”

Jaebum shares the small gesture, but tilts his head when he thinks about the closed off way Jinyoung had approached him. “Then why did you seem like you didn’t want to talk about it just now?”

Jinyoung casts his gaze down at his fingers, twiddling them in his lap. “I don’t know,” he scratches the back of his neck. “I assumed you would have thought I was taking things too fast and wanted to forget it.”

“No, I wasn’t thinking that,” he admits, breath catching when Jinyoung peers back at him, hopeful and full of the light he’d seen before. Jaebum licks his lips, “If BamBam hadn’t have come in, would we have -?”

“Things would have happened, I imagine.” Jinyoung clears his throat, a faint pink blush coloring his cheeks and crawling around to turn his ears red.

Jaebum revels in the sight, drinking in Jinyoung’s shyness as they finally talk about what happened. It’s going vastly different than how he assumed it would when he first saw Jinyoung, thankful that Jinyoung had only appeared indifferent because he thought it’s what Jaebum wanted, and not because he wished Friday had never happened.

Jaebum feels warm and even lighter than air as the awkwardness subsides and the thick tension dissipates throughout the truck. “So,” he says next, feeling like he’s trapped in the beginning stages of a high school relationship, when neither of you knows what to do after admitting your feelings towards each other.

“So,” Jinyoung repeats, evidently in the same boat as Jaebum. “I don’t want us to pretend like nothing happened. But…”

There comes a definite quiet slice through the air, so perhaps Jaebum was too naive to believe it was all that easy. He waits for Jinyoung to spell out why they can’t do this, because he knows that’s where the conversation is heading.

“But,” Jinyoung continues, gulping in uncertainty as he feels the pressure of Jaebum’s unwavering stare on him. “I just want to be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Jinyoung starts, running his hands through his hair nervously before gesturing outwards. “The town. The people. They would shun you for daring to even work for me, how do you think they’d react if they found we…” Jinyoung trails off as he faces the house, biting his lip in contemplation. “Were involved?”

Jaebum blinks back. “So you want to be, um,  _ involved _ ?”

“It wouldn’t be so bad,” Jinyoung rolls his eyes, earning a please smirk from the man across from him. “But if the town found out…”

Jaebum knows exactly what they’d think - they’d be disgusted with him, call him a traitor of the town like he’s sick and ridden with diseases. Then they’d cast him out like a leper and make sure his father felt the embarrassment that his son instilled upon their family for the rest of his life.

“I don’t care about them or what they think, you know that,” Jaebum explains. “They don’t have to know anything. I just-” He stops short, looking for the right words. He had never expected he would have ever been able to tell Jinyoung his feelings in the first place, so he’s not sure of what to say. “I just like being with you. I  _ want  _ to be with you, if you’ll let me.”

At the sudden revelation, Jinyoung’s head snaps back to his. His eyes are wide and searching, like he’s making sure Jaebum is truly in this and not wanting to back out. After a few seconds of Jaebum silently communicating that he’s not scared of what happens if someone found out, Jinyoung nods shyly and shuffles back into his seat facing the road. Jaebum takes this as a sign to get moving when it looks like Jinyoung isn’t going to say anything more, and swings the wheel around to get their cars back onto the road.

“I like being with you too,” he hears from the side, softly spoken barely above a whisper. If the music wasn’t so low he might not have heard it at all.

Jaebum reaches over and twists the volume button up, lips quirking up into a grin.

* * *

 

It takes nearly fifteen minutes for Jaebum to convince Mr. Woo to take in Jinyoung’s truck at his mechanics shop down the way, only with the promise that fixing the truck will get Jinyoung out of town faster and a hefty fifty bucks, which Jinyoung begs to repay later. Jaebum just shrugs and tells Jinyoung to pay him in food once the day’s done with, and Jinyoung reluctantly clammers back into his seat with a huff.

Jinyoung has a very good memory of all the times Jaebum’s helped him in this town, and wanting to feel more in control, he forces Jaebum to drop him off at the train station twenty minutes out of town, a nice halfway point between Cheolwon and Jinhae. If Jaebum would have had it his way, he would have driven the forty five minute trip to drop Jinyoung off with no complaints and wouldn’t bother to ask for gas money. But because Jinyoung doesn’t want to be seen as a burden, he makes Jaebum pull into the train station just as the daylight begins streaming through the clouds, and Jaebum can do nothing other than follow his wishes.

Jinyoung makes him park out of sight, just in case any other townspeople who travel into the city for work happen to be around. He pats his sides down to make sure he’s not forgetting anything, then releases the seat belt from his body. 

“You don’t have to drive back out here today if you don’t want to. I can call an uber or a lyft, or something.”

Jaebum bites back a giggle. “Jinyoung-ah,” he gets his attention as the younger is about to slide through the door. “Did you forget where we live? The nearest uber would be thirty miles away.”

Scrunching his nose in a cute embarrassment, Jinyoung scoffs to himself. “You’re right. I forgot once you pass the train tracks you’re not in Kansas anymore.”

“Really, Jinyoung-ah,” Jaebum muses. “I don’t mind.”

Jinyoung seems to contemplate this for a moment, before his face lights up in a devious manner. “Fine, but I’m buying you dinner to pay you back, deal?”

“Deal.”

“I’ll call you when I’m leaving then,” he says as he dismounts the vehicle, waving lightly before shutting the passenger door. With a stupidly wide grin on his face Jaebum waves back, imagining Jinyoung’s promise of buying him dinner and all  _ that  _ scenario entails. 

Then he watches happily as Jinyoung walks around the truck to his destination of the station, wondering how he’d gone from excited to angry to anxious and back to excited again all in one morning. Jinyoung’s effect was noticeable if even a little jarring at times, but Jaebum doesn’t mind. He feels somewhat secure in the conversation they’d had earlier, and now that they were both on the same page and were no longer afraid of diving in, the air feels lighter and Jaebum finds himself eager to see what awaits them in the days that pass. 

He knows he’s starring, eyes caught on Jinyoung’s form as he snaps back to where he is. Only when he does, he watches curiously as Jinyoung’s feet stop in their tracks. Soon his body is turning and his legs are walking him briskly back towards the truck, and Jaebum can only imagine that he’s forgotten something for work.

As Jinyoung approaches, Jaebum rolls his window down with a furrowed brow. “Did you forget something?”

“I did,” he says matter of factly, meeting Jaebum at the door.

Only, instead of letting him know what’s been forgotten, Jinyoung pokes his head through the open window and plants a small kiss directly onto Jaebum’s pursed lips. Jinyoung’s mouth is firm, but soft on his as Jaebum barely pushes through the shock to kiss back, earning a pleased hum from the man across from him.

Jinyoung’s lips are gone in the next instant, but he keeps his head close enough that Jaebum can feel his breath on his upper lip. 

“Thank you,” he whispers, eyes trailing from Jaebum’s mouth to his piercing brown eyes.

In response, Jaebum bites his bottom lip coyly. “It was my pleasure.”

Jinyoung reluctantly removes himself from Jaebum’s truck and waves once more before disappearing into the throng of people waiting for the morning commute. With a buzzing beneath his fingertips Jaebum sets back towards home, unable to keep the dopey smile off of his face as he belligerently screams to the radio.

* * *

 

It becomes a routine with them now, Jaebum dropping Jinyoung off at the train station in the morning and picking him up in the afternoons. While Jinyoung’s truck is at the mechanics waiting for some expensive, difficult to locate, one in a million part to arrive to fix his alternator, Jaebum becomes his support system in terms of needing to get places.

He doesn’t mind that he gets to see Jinyoung more times a day now, because as the hours pass and the days run together, Jaebum and Jinyoung fall into their own rhythm with each other, watching as their relationship with each other unfolds, reluctant to call it anything specific.

They kiss without expecting anything else to come from it, either when saying hello in the morning or goodbye when Jaebum has to eventually leave him at night, and it stays that way for a while. They’ll catch each other sneaking glances across the room, shyly looking away like kids getting caught with candy. They’ll sit and talk for hours on end about whatever the other is interested in over the dinners that Jinyoung brings for the both of them, and when it’s dark enough that all the stars are visible at night, Jinyoung will tug Jaebum onto the roof they built to count as many as possible, tucked in each other’s embrace as they dreamily stare into the skies above. 

They don’t talk about the past, what happened at the church, or about Jinyoung’s father. There’s still questions Jaebum wants answered, but he gives Jinyoung his space and waits for  _ him _ to bring up the conversation. 

One night as the pair are lounging around in Jinyoung’s room getting high, Jinyoung leaves for some reason or another, and Jaebum decides to look through Jinyoung’s bedroom chest for another lighter. 

What he finds instead is a small picture book, no bigger than his hand, and curiously flips through it. He finds photos of the town from ten years ago and beyond, of Jinyoung and his father at the church in their Sunday best, of former friends Jinyoung played with in the school yard, and the most daunting image in the back, that of a teenage Jinyoung holding onto a little boy who looked up at him like he was the entire world.

He knows immediately it’s Hyunjin, and Jaebum feels so guilty about rummaging through Jinyoung’s private things without permission that he hastily shuts the book and pretends like he’d never seen it. Jinyoung never finds out.

The pyromania is an off topic item because Jinyoung says it’s in the past, so they don’t discuss it either. But every now and then, Jaebum will catch Jinyoung staring at a candle flame for a beat too long and wonder if his affliction runs deeper than blood.

On weekdays when Jinyoung has to work, they’re able to get some tasks done at his home after the long hours, but some days on occasion Jinyoung will call the remodeling work off for the day because he’s either too tired or doesn’t want to deal with it.

Weekends are filled with the bulk of the work still, but as the days crawl on and they start finishing up on all the little things, there leaves very little needing done before Jinyoung gets an inspector out to check that the house is ready so he can begin to look for a suitable family to take over his childhood home. 

They’ve got painting to do and yard work to get to, but other than that they’ve pretty much done all that they can, being basically a step up from amateurs.

It’s amazing to see how far they’ve come in the summer months, from the decrepit old shack to the sturdy foundation that stands beneath their feet. With the help of BamBam of course, the trio have managed to turn Jinyoung’s old home completely on its heels.

It takes three weeks for Jinyoung’s truck to get repaired, and despite Jinyoung being able to drive himself to and from work, he makes Jaebum stay for dinner every other night even though Jaebum’s taxi service is out of business and the debt has been repaid.

Everything just becomes right. It feels like it has all fallen into place for the two, and Jaebum hasn’t felt this happy in a long time. He almost doesn’t want to think about what comes for Jinyoung after the house is sold, and if Jaebum is in that scenario.

But in the weeks spent together BamBam ties into what’s going on between them. Of course he had known about the first incident, when he had nearly walked into his hyungs getting it on, but they never revealed anything more to him, wanting to keep things simple and private.

But Jaebum is quite obvious now with his googoo eyes and stupid grin every time he looks Jinyoung’s way, and despite Jinyoung being able to cool his emotions easily, BamBam can apparently read him like a book. He had known Jinyoung was harboring feelings for Jaebum instantly all those weeks ago, and he knows the pair couldn’t keep things at that.

He lets it be known one night after Jinyoung gets home with dinner for three, deciding to cancel the painting they had planned to just hang out and rest.

“Woah, Jinyoung hyung are you sure you want me to join you guys?” BamBam asks innocently enough as he sits at the island. But knowing BamBam means nothing is quite as innocent as he makes it out to be. “You wouldn’t rather send me home so you can suck Jaebum hyung’s dick?”

Jaebum spits the water he’s drinking back into the glass after choking on it and feels his face burning in mortification. Not a second later Jinyoung slams a metal fork against the counter. 

He peers at the youngest with pink ears and a stern finger. “Just for that, I’m giving you the salad.”

“No, hyung! I was just kidding.” BamBam realizes his mistake far too late as Jinyoung opens the salad container and starts shoveling the leafy greens onto his plate. He tries to correct himself, but ends up digging a bigger hole, “We all know you  _ really _ hate Jaebum hyung with a burning passion.”

BamBam knows it’s all just fun and games, and Jaebum and Jinyoung know he’s just teasing them to get a rise. But it’s utterly hilarious to see BamBam squirm from their devious minds - giving him the least appetizing food of the bunch - which makes Jaebum get another idea.

“Just for that, give him the octopus tentacles too.”

Jinyoung matches his playful smirk, stuffing his hands into one of the bags he’d picked up on the way home and laying the white to-go box out on the counter.

“The what?!” BamBam screeches, eyes falling to the container and mouth pulling up in disgust. Jinyoung wastes no time popping the lid open, revealing a mound of grey tentacles - still moving.  

“Ugh you guys are the worst hyungs ever.” BamBam gags, slamming the lid closed as he rises to his feet. “I’m going home to eat something that isn’t still  _ alive _ . Hope you choke sucking face!”

The youngest tugs his jacket on and leaves them with that, deserting them with a huff in the brisk air of the kitchen. It takes all of three seconds after he’s gone for the remaining pair to burst into laughter. It’s lovely to see Jinyoung messing around like friends normally world, and it’s even better that Jaebum’s been able to hear his laughter more and more as the days go on.

When the laughter subsides and Jinyoung moves the octopus off to the side, Jaebum takes the spot BamBam left unoccupied. “That kid needs a spanking.”

Jaebum laughs to himself, because while BamBam liked to tease and make fun of them now that they were officially  _ something,  _ he was pretty far off from the truth. Sure they kissed when they thought no one was looking and held each other close when the hours ran on too long, but something kept them each back from moving things forward. 

They haven’t once yet tried to recreate the famous storm moment, but it feels right that they haven’t, spending more time getting to know each other as things build instead of letting the heat consume them. Not that Jaebum hasn’t wanted it to happen; he wouldn’t mind if it did, but he didn’t want to push. He would only follow Jinyoung if he let him.

“Nah, he’s a good kid.” Jinyoung’s voice breaks through Jaebum’s shameless but happy thoughts, fixing their plates with bulgogi and rice. “I’m gonna miss having him around all the time.”

Jaebum almost drops the chopsticks he’s using, but luckily rights himself without Jinyoung noticing. They haven’t talked about this - what comes after Jinyoung gets the house sold. He’ll leave, there’s no doubt in Jaebum’s mind. He couldn’t risk being a target in the town by staying, even if Jaebum wanted him to. 

And Jaebum doesn’t want that. He wants Jinyoung to find his family up north and live happily, far away from crazy people who think they know everything. Even if it means Jinyoung leaving him, Jaebum knows he’d have to deal. Because for one thing, they’ve never addressed the longevity of this thing they’re doing or if they see it lasting.

They live in the moment, barely thinking of what comes next. So Jaebum doesn’t ask yet, because he’s both not ready and scared of what the answer may be.

He hums into his food, and Jinyoung doesn’t say anything else on the matter. They eat in a comfortable silence, with Jinyoung sneaking glances at him every other minute or so. Jaebum feels warm, and notices that something else fizzles in the air when Jinyoung places his palm flat against his thigh. He doesn’t do anything with it, like slide it down further, just places it there as a comforting touch as he rubs his thumb against the fabric slowly. He continues eating like nothing’s happening, but Jaebum feels Jinyoung’s hand print burning through his jeans, and it’s the only thing he can think about as they pair clean their plates.

When they’re finished eating, Jinyoung takes their dishes and rinses them off in the sink. Jaebum stares at his curvy and strong backside until his brain forces his feet to drag him towards the younger, and despite himself he ends up with his arms around Jinyoung’s waist as he works, Jaebum hooking his chin over his shoulder.

Jaebum watches as Jinyoung’s mouth curls into a smile, then because he can, presses a quick kiss to the shell of his ear. “So, I should probably head out.”

Jinyoung stills, but manages to turn the tap off with his wrist. He spins in Jaebum’s arms, wrapping his own around Jaebum’s neck. “So soon?” He pouts.

“Well I don’t know,” Jaebum sighs, tightening his arms to hold Jinyoung closer. Their faces inch closer, noses barely a centimeter apart. “My dad said he needed help with this thing on his phone, and you know how parents are with cell phones.”

Jinyoung tugs Jaebum even closer, his now heated gaze dropping to his mouth. “Completely useless.”

All Jaebum can do is hum in response as he dips down, capturing Jinyoung’s lips in his. He tastes faintly of teriyaki sauce and doesn’t wait to part his lips for Jaebum to enter with his tongue. They’ve kissed dozens of times already, he knows the feeling of Jinyoung’s lips and can map out the inside of his mouth without even looking. But each new kiss feels like the first, like he’s breathless and Jinyoung is the air he needs to breathe. 

It doesn’t take much of Jaebum biting his lower lip for Jinyoung to whine airily when he reluctantly pulls back. “It can’t wait until tomorrow?”

“That depends on what’s going to happen tonight,” Jaebum breathes, already knowing that there’s no place he has to be tonight. But this is a chase, and he’s had Jinyoung’s touch and his body on mind all night. Jinyoung just needs to catch him.

Another breathless kiss steals the oxygen from Jaebum’s brain and he burns under his skin in anticipation for what Jinyoung wants. He’ll take everything, anything as Jinyoung drags his tongue along the underside of his mouth at the same time his hands start to move on their own. 

One combs through the short strands at the back of Jaebum’s neck, making him groan into Jinyoung’s open mouth. However the other hand travels down to his waist, tangling in the belt loops of his jeans. He gives Jaebum a small tug, brushing their lower bodies together ever so slightly.

“Stay,” Jinyoung purrs deliciously against Jaebum’s lips, a twinkle shining in his eyes. “Then I’ll show you.”

With Jinyoung’s hands in his hair and on his waist, his mouth peppering kisses down his neck, and the push of their bodies towards the staircase, Jaebum’s mouth can only form two words as he’s tugged into Jinyoung’s room, laid on the mattress, and taken down like he would have been three weeks ago.

“Sorry dad.”


End file.
